The Denver Post

Letter to Bryant lawyer criticized
By Steve Lipsher
Denver Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 - Eagle County "screwed up" in alerting Kobe Bryant's attorneys that the media had requested records from the sex- assault investigation against the basketball star, a county official said Monday.

County Administrator Jack Ingstad said assistant county attorney Bryan Treu erred in notifying defense attorney Pamela Mackey about the requests.

"He treated (the team) differently than they would have treated me if someone were seeking my records," Ingstad said. "It just seemed to exceed our authority. ... We shouldn't have been notifying anybody."

Tipped off by a letter from Treu, Mackey immediately sought and won a temporary restraining order before the requests could be honored, and District Judge Richard Hart now is considering her request to seal the records permanently.

Members of the media, including The Denver Post, have been fighting for access to the investigation records, including a tape of a 75-minute interview with Bryant made by detectives from the Eagle County Sheriff's Department.

Media attorneys have argued that the traditionally open records need to be available so that the public can see what the government is doing, in this case, the grounds for filing charges against Bryant.

Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com .