The Denver Post
Bryant's attorneys could have asked about DNA tests
Sunday, February 06, 2005 - Eagle - Had the criminal case gone to trial, Kobe Bryant's attorneys would have been able to grill a boyfriend of the woman who accused the basketball star of sexual assault about why he refused to submit to a DNA test.
Judge Terry Ruckriegle had ruled that Bryant's defense team could ask Matt Herr in front of a jury why he refused the test and draw inferences that he may have been sexually involved with the woman and could have been the source of her injuries, according to unsealed documents filed in Eagle District Court. "The court finds Mr. Herr's refusal to submit his DNA profile is a 'relevant' fact," the judge ruled. A sexual-assault examination of the woman after the encounter with Bryant revealed semen from another man besides Bryant. The criminal case against Bryant was dismissed in September in the middle of jury selection after the woman refused to participate further; she continues to pursue a civil case against him in Denver federal court. The disclosure is among the details revealed in several hundred pages of documents unsealed by Eagle District Judge Richard Hart in light of a request from a consortium of media organizations. Also released were details about a dispute between prosecutors and defense attorneys over how much of Bryant's statements to police would be admissible, particularly his comments about having sex with another woman who was not his wife. "The statements are simply irrelevant to this case," defense attorney Pamela Mackey wrote in a motion to suppress Bryant's comments about having forceful sex with a woman in Philadelphia and his claim that former teammate Shaquille O'Neal paid hush money to women with whom he had sex. Meanwhile, just four days before the case was dropped, Ruckriegle issued the ruling allowing the defense to question Herr on the stand about his refusal to take a DNA test. Herr successfully fought a defense request to submit a swab of saliva for DNA testing, arguing that he was not a suspect in the case and could not be compelled to waive his right to privacy. Herr, prosecutor Dana Easter wrote, "has done nothing wrong, nor has he committed any breach in his refusal to submit to this examination." Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com .
|