The Denver Post
Bryant's accuser testifies
Thursday, March 25, 2004 -
EAGLE - The woman who accused basketball star Kobe Bryant of sexual assault testified behind closed doors for nearly four hours Wednesday in what legal analysts said was assuredly a grueling recounting of her sexual history.
Marking the first time Bryant and his accuser had been in the same room since the June 30 incident at an upscale hotel near Edwards, defense attorneys grilled the 19-year-old former hotel clerk in an effort to prove her sexual encounters are relevant to the case. The woman entered the courtroom about 8:40 a.m., accompanied by her attorney John Clune and a victim's advocate, and she made brief appearances in the courthouse hallway during breaks, her demeanor offering little insight into the atmosphere of the hearing. Bryant, who has maintained a stone face throughout the months of hearings, appeared far more agitated Wednesday, emerging at one point looking grim and upset and chewing on his lower lip. Victim's advocates and lawyers said the woman's appearance in the same Eagle County courtroom with Bryant would be an extremely emotional and draining experience for her. "I can't overstate how overwhelming it is for an alleged victim to face a defendant in a sexual-assault case in the courtroom for the first time," said Kathie Kramer, spokeswoman for the Denver-based Rape Assistance and Awareness Program. As her parents paced in the hallway outside the courtroom, their daughter - wearing a black jacket and tan pants - presumably was testifying about the most intimate details of her life.
Bryant accuser faces threats, asks for speedy trial. Click here for details.
"In this particular case," Kramer said outside the courthouse, "not only is she facing this person in the courtroom, but she will be answering questions about her past consensual sexual activities, a topic which most people would prefer not to talk about." But the length of the defense examination of the 2002 Eagle Valley High School graduate was far shorter than many legal experts had predicted. "This wasn't a situation where the defense would have free rein," University of Denver law professor Karen Steinhauser said. "It was going to be very specific questioning and not a heyday for the defense." The session probably wasn't easy for the woman, however, said Steinhauser, a former sexual-assault prosecutor. "I would hate for people to think that these four hours for the woman were a cakewalk. Whether it was one hour, three hours, or four hours, this had to be extremely traumatic and difficult," she said. In the afternoon, a series of the woman's acquaintances, including the prosecution's chief "outcry" witness, testified in the closed-door hearing, which is scheduled to continue today. One was Bobby Pietrack, the bellman at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera and the first person the woman told about the incident, which Bryant contends was a consensual liaison. Bryant's attorneys want to show that her injuries could have resulted from sexual encounters in the 72 hours before the incident, or from another man in the 15 hours immediately afterward.
Click
here to log on and participate.
You will need to click on the link that says 'Register Your Free Account' to create an account in order to post messages, but
you can read all the messages without registering.
Legal analysts also speculated that the gossip, innuendo and rumors about the woman may be just that - matters without any substance - giving the defense far less to work with than the public has been led to believe. "Colorado's rape shield law is a warning to judges: Be very careful when you deal with this kind of evidence. Make sure it is really relevant; don't allow in mere character assassination," said former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman. "He is going to protect the alleged victim as much as he can but balancing Kobe Bryant's right to a fair trial against her rights." District Judge Terry Ruckriegle is expected to rule within weeks whether any of the woman's sexual history, which is presumed irrelevant under Colorado's rape shield law, may be admitted at trial. The judge "had to allow the defense to explore the issues but not badger the witness," said Andrew Cohen, a legal analyst for CBS. "There are only so many personal questions you can ask." After testifying for about two hours, the accuser emerged for a 15-minute midmorning break looking dazed and hurt. She seemed unsteady on her feet and leaned on Clune as she made her way down the court hallway but appeared more relaxed upon her return. By the time she finished testifying at 12:30 p.m., the woman appeared to have fully regained her composure. She had an animated conversation with Clune outside the courthouse and then walked back to the district attorney's office smiling. Steinhauser said the experience might actually have been helpful. "It can be therapeutic just because she got through it. I think she is going to be so much more prepared for trial than if she hadn't had to testify," the former prosecutor said. Outside the courthouse, Lisa Wayne, a Boulder defense attorney, said that she believed defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon kept the questioning short because they want to establish credibility with Ruckriegle. "I don't think they went back years and years ago" into her sexual history, Wayne said. "They want credibility with the judge. The defense is sending a message to the judge that they are credible. And they are sending a message to the alleged victim that we have the evidence."
Click here for an interactive presentation on Kobe Bryant's career.
Click here for an archive of court documents in the People v. Bryant case.
Click here for The Denver Post's graphic on the events of June 30.
Click here for the 9NEWS archive on the case.
Click here for the CourtTV archive on the case.
The hearing also marks the first time defense attorneys have had a chance to size up the accuser. "They are trying to gain information and see what makes her react. They will be soft and sensitive to begin with, and not until the end will they get belligerent," Silverman said. "The defense will continue to ask her questions until the judge makes them stop." Despite the tense environment, Denver defense attorney Larry Pozner, a legal expert not connected to the case, suggested that because it was behind closed doors, there were fewer theatrics. "What Pam is demonstrating to the judge is the admissibility or the relevance of certain facts," Pozner said. "Mackey is not playing for a crowd. She is not playing for effect. She is playing for keeps." |