The Denver Post
Bryant-case files reveal formidable witness list
Tuesday, November 02, 2004 -
In a case where a key issue was whether the injuries of an alleged assault victim were consistent with consensual sex or rape, Kobe Bryant's defense lined up six doctors to offer opinions on Bryant's behalf, newly unsealed documents reveal.
Among the defense experts was one notable doctor who normally does work for prosecutors, legal analysts said Monday. The list of doctors was contained in the first batch of previously sealed Bryant-case documents ordered released last week by District Judge Terry Ruckriegle. Among the doctors is Donna Rosenberg, an expert in analyzing sexual assaults on children. Karen Steinhauser, a former Denver prosecutor and now a professor at the University of Denver School of Law, said Rosenberg has a sterling reputation. "If it's the defense who is looking for a second opinion or a first opinion, she is one of those people" who is considered to be a straight shooter, Steinhauser said. "To have an opinion that is helpful from Dr. Rosenberg is very helpful because first, she is a very well-respected doctor, and secondly she is a woman," said Denver defense lawyer Dan Recht. Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said that the "tremendous number" of defense experts offers an additional explanation why the case against Bryant was dismissed. "It tells me the defense was going to win and that's why the prosecution and the accuser folded their cards," Silverman said. District Attorney Mark Hurlbert announced the dismissal of the case Sept. 1 after the accuser said she did not wish to go forward, and was incapable of doing so. Steinhauser said the documents show the defense was thorough. "They've done their homework. They've talked to as many people as possible," she said. The defense work is outlined in a list of trial exhibits filed by the defense with Ruckriegle. Also unsealed was a similar list from the prosecution. Among the exhibits Hurlbert planned to show were pictures of bruises to the now 20-year- old accuser; 30 photos of Bryant's clothes; a video walk- through of The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, where the woman says she was raped by Bryant on June 30, 2003. Bryant says the encounter was consensual. Prosecutors had alleged that Bryant violently grabbed the woman - a front-desk employee at the resort - by the neck, forced her to lean over a chair and raped her. Prosecutors also planned to introduce a copy of the transcript of Bryant's statement to detectives Doug Winters and Daniel Loya, plus a video of Bryant's news conference the day he was charged. At the news conference, Bryant said he didn't force the woman to do anything against her will, although he said he committed adultery. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . |