The Denver Post
Start of Bryant trial seems near
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 -
Eagle - The potential for a late-August trial for Kobe Bryant was set in motion Monday when the state judge presiding over the case ruled on a series of motions in a way that will shorten the time needed for trial preparation.
Judge Terry Ruckriegle didn't say when jury selection would begin but discussed at length how jurors would be summoned and questioned. "I do sincerely believe that we have an interest in setting a trial date," Ruckriegle told the lawyers for Bryant and the large team of prosecutors who have been assembled to try the case. Potential jurors could receive a short questionnaire at home around the time they receive their summonses for jury duty. Once they report for jury service, it is likely they will be asked to fill out an even longer questionnaire. District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the judge the prosecution would like an August trial date. Pamela Mackey, who represents Bryant, said the earliest the defense could start would be late August. At the heart of the day's open court hearing were discussions about jury instructions. Bryant, who was in court Monday, has been accused of using physical force or violence to coerce a then 19-year- old woman to have sex with him. The women told detectives that what started out as consensual kissing and flirting degenerated rapidly into rape, when Bryant grabbed her by the neck and forced himself on her. The Los Angeles Lakers guard claims what occurred the night of June 30 at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera was consensual. On Monday, Bryant's attorneys and the prosecution team fought over a key instruction crucial in a "he said, she said" case - where credibility and the way jurors are instructed could decide the final verdict. In arguments before Ruck- riegle, Mackey and Hal Haddon argued that in Colorado there is such a thing as an "affirmative defense of consent" in alleged sexual-assault cases. They claim the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the woman didn't consent and that Bryant knew the woman did not consent. But Matthew Holman, a first assistant Colorado attorney general, told the judge Colorado law doesn't require the prosecution to prove the woman didn't consent. He said there is no affirmative defense of consent in Colorado, nor is the prosecution legally obligated to show Bryant knew the woman wasn't consenting. Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and now a professor at the University of Denver School of Law, said Monday that all the prosecution must do is show the alleged rapist caused submission by physical force and violence. Once prosecutors prove the elements of submission, to then have an affirmative defense of consent would be inconsistent with what the prosecutors already have proved, Steinhauser said. Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com . |