The Denver Post
Prosecutors in Bryant case request delay of trial
Thursday, August 12, 2004 -
Prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case have asked for a delay of the trial, scheduled to begin in about two weeks, saying the release of damaging transcripts this month has tainted the jury pool.
Additionally, District Attorney Mark Hurlbert on Wednesday filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court to overturn Judge Terry Ruckriegle's ruling that would allow evidence at trial that the accuser may have had sex with another man around the same time. The evidence could raise questions about the cause of any alleged injuries, potentially undermining her credibility. Meanwhile, the accuser's father has written a letter excoriating the judge for appearing to favor the defense, according to a copy obtained by various media outlets. "From the outset, it has been painfully obvious that you treat the defense as if they can do no wrong, and the prosecution and my daughter's attorney as if you have something against them or this case," the father wrote. "My family and I have lost trust that we can obtain a fair trial in your court." Victims advocates and lawyers for Bryant's accuser have said that errors by the court have undermined the woman's faith in the judicial system. The court has twice posted documents online that named the accuser and mistakenly sent copies of a transcript from a closed-door hearing to media outlets. The all-out, last-ditch attack by prosecutors and the accuser seems to be setting up the scenario for the case to be dropped completely in favor of a civil suit the woman filed in federal court in Denver on Tuesday. "Then she can save face," said Denver defense attorney Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. "So the criminal case gets dismissed on her urging - not because it didn't happen, as she will say - but because the court put us in a position where we had no choice but to ask that the matter be dismissed." Hurlbert's request for an indefinite delay, which was made public Wednesday, doesn't have to be granted by the judge. It comes just as it appears the 20-year-old accuser has wavered in her commitment to go to trial, observers say.
* Motion for Continuance (Colo. v. Bryant)
"Obviously it signals the possibility that they need more time to assess whether they can go forward without her," said Marcia Clark, the prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson murder trial and a television legal analyst. The Eagle woman accused Bryant of raping her in an upscale hotel near Edwards last summer, although the 25-year-old basketball star contends the liaison was consensual. Jury selection is scheduled for Aug. 27. But if the Supreme Court accepts Hurlbert's appeal, the trial likely would be delayed. In a two-page motion released Wednesday, Hurlbert pointed out that the judge on Aug. 2 released disputed transcripts from a closed-door hearing detailing the testimony of defense DNA expert Elizabeth Johnson. The transcripts suggested the accuser had sex with another man immediately after her encounter with Bryant. "Due to the nature of the hearing transcribed ... the people did not put on expert testimony at that hearing, thus there is an absence of balance in the information released," Hurlbert wrote. "The entire transcript was then placed on the Vail Daily (newspaper) website on Aug. 2. The release of this information (so close) to trial will have the effect of tainting the jury pool and impact the ability of the prosecution to obtain a fair jury trial at this time." Additionally, Hurlbert said a sweeping gag order issued by the judge last week precludes the prosecution from responding to the damaging contentions by Johnson.
Click here for the official court website with court orders and other 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.
"The release of this transcript so close in time to the trial date is extremely harmful to the people's case, particularly given the fact that the prosecution has been unable to respond," he wrote. Hurlbert also noted that the judge has not ruled on critical motions filed by both sides disputing whether the accuser's mental-health history and evidence of any drug and alcohol use on her part may be admitted. He called the testimony about those issues "extremely intrusive and personal to the victim" and said the delayed rulings have affected the woman's ability to prepare her testimony for trial and given prosecutors no time to line up expert witnesses should they be necessary. Karen Steinhauser, a law professor at the University of Denver, disputed Hurlbert's claim of not having enough time to react. "This is the type of thing where you prepare, you anticipate that this evidence may be coming in," she said. "This is not the type of testimony that you are dependent on what the court's ruling is and wait until the last minute to get your experts lined up." Steinhauser said she wouldn't be surprised if Ruckriegle denies the motion for a delay. The request for a delay is particularly curious after prosecutors in June joined the accuser in urging the judge to speed up the trial date, said Denver defense attorney Larry Pozner. He said the request may be a setup to drop the case in lieu of the civil suit the woman filed in federal court. "I think they've put the judge repeatedly into this position where if he doesn't give the prosecution everything they want, that when they dump the case, they blame it on the judge," he said. Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said the judge is unlikely to grant the delay, since the court has already sent out 999 juror summonses and both sides supposedly have been arranging for their witnesses to appear. "It would be a logistical nightmare," he said. Denver defense attorney Phil Cherner predicted the judge might grant a short delay, but Bryant's right to a speedy trial comes into play if it goes much longer than a month. At least one of the reasons cited by Hurlbert - that the pre-trial publicity surrounding the Johnson testimony in the redacted transcripts has further tainted the jury pool - doesn't wash with Don Rogers, managing editor for the Vail Daily News. "It's a great big national story, but for the locals it consistently rides to third, fourth, fifth," he said. 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 . |