The Denver Post
High court urged to lift order on Bryant-case transcript
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 - TUESDAY UPDATE by Howard Pankratz and Steve Lipsher/Denver Post Staff Writers:
The Colorado Supreme Court today ordered the judge in the Kobe Bryant sex-assault case to explain why he has ordered news organizations not to publish transcripts of a closed-door hearing in the case mistakenly e-mailed to them by a court reporter.
The justices gave state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle until Friday to answer in writing why the transcripts should not be released as requested by the news organizations, including The Denver Post.
The Post and the six other media outlets have until July 7 to reply to Ruckriegle.
The Supreme Court gave District Attorney Mark Hurlbert; Bryant attorneys Pam Mackey and Hal Haddon; and John Clune, a lawyer for Bryant's accuser, until Friday to reply to the request of the media.
The high court said that Ruckriegle's June 24 order that the transcripts not be published will remain "in full force and effect" until further order of the court.
Attorneys for seven media outlets, including The Denver Post, filed an urgent request Monday with the Colorado Supreme Court seeking to lift a judge's order barring publication of a secret transcript mistakenly released in the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case.
District Judge Terry Ruckriegle issued an order Thursday barring the dissemination of the material - which reflects testimony from a closed-door hearing - and ordering its destruction after it was inadvertently sent by e-mail to the organizations from court reporter Michelle Goodbee. The media organizations have asked the state high court to intervene, arguing that the government may not impose "prior restraint" on the press for publishing material gained lawfully. "The fundamental proposition is that the First Amendment does not permit judges to do what Judge Ruckriegle did, except in the most extreme and unusual situations," said media attorney Chris Beall. "Unless the government can show a substantial threat to national security, it is not appropriate to prevent the disclosure of information that the news media receives without any improper conduct on its own part." The state Supreme Court has sole discretion on whether to consider the matter. Any decision can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The documents include arguments and testimony from the closed-door "rape-shield" hearing last week in which the basketball star's defense team was attempting to show that the sexual history of the woman involved is relevant to the case. In a 15-page filing, media attorney Tom Kelley cited the nation's most famous case of prior restraint, in which The New York Times and other papers ultimately were cleared by the U.S. Supreme Court for publishing details of the Pentagon Papers.
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.
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