The Denver Post
Hearing to key on details of Bryant case
Thursday, May 27, 2004 -
Eagle - Defense attorneys in the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case will seek the genetic profiles of semen taken from the accuser's panties, as well as the contents of her cellphone text messages during a pretrial hearing today in Eagle.
The latest requests focus on details legal analysts say they believe could prove crucial in the case against the basketball star. "These are all pieces of the puzzle," Denver defense attorney Dan Recht said. "The jury is going to hear her say one thing and him say another, and then they're going to be grasping for whatever evidence there is that might support him or might support her." Prosecutors, meanwhile, will argue against allowing the testimony of two defense crime investigation experts who, according to documents filed this week, will say Eagle County authorities conducted a shoddy investigation. Defense attorney Hal Haddon contends that authorities failed to conduct a routine search for evidence in the room at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards that could have cast doubt on the 19-year-old hotel clerk's story. Bryant, 25, pleaded not guilty May 11, but District Judge Terry Ruckriegle wanted to see more progress on scientific testing before setting a trial date, which must occur within six months of that arraignment. While his Los Angeles Lakers teammates prepare for tonight's Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bryant will be in the Eagle County courthouse listening to arguments. Key among them is whether the defense can have access to the results of DNA testing performed on semen found in the woman's panties during a rape examination the day after the June 30 encounter with Bryant. At Bryant's preliminary hearing in October, Eagle County Sheriff's Detective Doug Winters testified that the woman told him she had put on clean panties for the exam and that the semen was not from Bryant but that investigators had been denied the opportunity to take DNA samples from two men they suspected could match the results. Defense attorney Pamela Mackey has since suggested the woman may have had sex after her encounter with Bryant, which he contends was consensual. The defense also wants details of her telephone text messages during the time surrounding the incident and - over the objections of prosecutors - wants to call in crime scene investigation experts, including one who helped O.J. Simpson win an acquittal in his murder case, to cast doubt on the thoroughness of the case. Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com . |