The Denver Post
Prosecutor says ruling won't derail Bryant trial
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 -
Prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case intend to continue toward trial despite Friday's legal setback that will allow defense attorneys to raise the accuser's sex life in front of a jury.
The district attorney's office has spoken to the alleged victim, and her intent is to proceed with the case, spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said Monday. "Yes, we are planning to go forward. She is planning on moving forward with us," Flannigan said of the 20-year-old accuser. The basketball star's trial is set to begin Aug. 27, although on Friday, Judge Terry Ruckriegle extended the plea-negotiation deadline to Wednesday. Neither Flannigan nor Bryant's lawyers have been willing to say whether they would agree to a plea bargain. Bryant faces four years to life in prison if convicted of the Class 3 felony sexual-assault charge, which accuses him of using physical force or violence to coerce the woman into having sex with him June 30, 2003, at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards. While preparations for the August trial continue, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said prosecutors are considering whether to appeal Ruckriegle's ruling, which could postpone the trial while the matter is heard by the Colorado Supreme Court. "If the court grants the hearing of the appeal, then it will most likely delay things," Hurlbert said. "That's something that's part of the consideration as to whether we will appeal or not." Prosecutors and the accuser already have railed against the slow pace of the 13-month-old case, but legal analysts say they might feel compelled to appeal Friday's crucial ruling. That ruling allows the basketball star's attorneys to introduce evidence that the woman may have had sex soon after her encounter with Bryant. Defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon can introduce evidence that another man's semen was found in the woman's panties and on her body at a rape examination the next day. They have suggested that the woman's injuries may have resulted from sex with multiple partners in a short period of time, perhaps even after her late-night encounter with Bryant but before she contacted authorities in the morning. Ruckriegle made his ruling after a series of closed-door hearings to determine the relevance of any of the woman's sexual activity to the case under the state rape-shield law.
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.
"What you're looking for is, did the judge abuse his discretion?" she said. "I think it would be very hard to find an appellate court that would say this is an abuse of discretion." Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com . Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1929 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . |