The Denver Post
Bryant's attorneys drop bid to keep evidence sealed
Monday, September 27, 2004 -
Eagle - Kobe Bryant's attorneys abruptly dropped a bid to seal evidence in the NBA star's dismissed rape case today, saying the details will be leaked anyway and releasing all the documents would reveal just how unprofessional the prosecution really was.
In a scathing court filing, defense attorney Pamela Mackey cited what she called "unlawful or improper conduct" by law enforcement officers and prosecutors throughout the case, including the suppression of evidence suggesting Bryant was innocent. Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan did not immediately return a call seeking comment. District Attorney Mark Hurlbert dropped the felony sexual assault charge against Bryant at the alleged victim's request Sept. 1. He recently said evidence and documents in the case should be released, saying the public's interest in reviewing actions and decisions by prosecutors and the judge outweighs Bryant's privacy concerns. While the case was pending, Hurlbert had said releasing the information could make it difficult to find impartial jurors to decide whether Bryant assaulted a 19-year-old woman at a Vail-area resort last year. Bryant admitted only to having consensual sex with the resort employee, now 20. News organizations have filed requests to obtain the evidence and sealed court filings. District Judge Richard Hart sealed the information pending the court fight, and there was no immediate indication on whether he would open the files after Mackey's court filing. The defense had asked Hart to seal the evidence and documents, saying it includes "highly sensitive, confidential, embarrassing and private" matters of interest only for "salacious and other improper purposes." Mackey reversed course today, saying releasing every document would allow full scrutiny of decisions made by Hurlbert, prosecutor Dana Easter and others in pressing their case against the Los Angeles Lakers star. She said a transcript of Bryant's initial interview with sheriff's deputies that was published in the Vail Daily appeared to have been prepared by the prosecution.
Click here for a timeline of the People v. Bryant case.
Click here for the official court website with officials court orders, filings and documents in the case.
Click here to see a copy of the felony charges against Bryant in the PDF format. The charges were dropped Sept. 1.
Click here for the questions that were asked asked of potential jurors in the case.
Click here for an interactive presentation on Bryant's career.
Click here for the 9NEWS archive on the case.
Click here for the CourtTV archive on the case.
"Mr. Bryant has concluded that one or more individuals associated with the prosecution intentionally and criminally violated" a court order by leaking the transcript, Mackey wrote. And she said those same people will leak information to the media even if the details are sealed. She singled out Hurlbert in a letter that was part of her court filing. "(I)t would be wholly improper - it would defeat the very public interest you claim you are attempting to advance - to shield the fatal flaws in the prosecution of which your office was aware early on, and to shield your own office from public and media scrutiny," Mackey told Hurlbert last week. In a written response, Hurlbert asked Mackey to "let me do my job as custodian of records." "Be assured, I do not have any agenda to discredit you or your client," he wrote. Bryant still faces a federal civil suit filed by the accuser seeking unspecified damages for pain, suffering, "public scorn, hatred and ridicule." Her attorneys have sought the public release of details in the case, except for records dealing with her sexual activities, allegations of drug or alcohol use, her mental health and other information that was ruled inadmissible in the criminal case. |