Prosecutors won't seek retest of DNA

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
June 19, 2004

Kobe Bryant's prosecutors are abandoning plans to retest some DNA samples in his sexual-assault case, saying that they don't want a procedural dispute with defense attorneys over that issue to delay a trial.

The two sides had traded legal briefs in recent weeks over Eagle District Attorney Mark Hurlbert's plans to retest unspecified DNA samples because the private laboratory he planned to use would not allow a defense expert to witness the procedure.

Advertisement

The defense said the use of a lab where their expert wasn't welcome violated an order by Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle. The prosecution countered that Ruckriegle's "order" was only a suggestion, and that since the tests wouldn't destroy the samples in question, they had no legal obligation to allow the defense expert to be present.

On June 3, Ruckriegle ordered the prosecution to explain its failure to comply with his order on the matter and raised the threat of sanctions against Hurlbert's team. But that debate is now being put to rest.

In a document made public Friday, Hurlbert said the tests are not pivotal to the case and "only serves to unnecessarily delay matters further."

Because many of the documents relating to the DNA issue have been filed under seal, case observers can only speculate about the specifics of what it was the prosecution hoped to retest, and why.

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.