Ed Andrieski © AP Kobe Bryant attorney Hal Haddon, left, exchanges a high five with attorney Lisa Wayne as the defense team leaves the courthouse in Eagle on Wednesday.

'Certain cases get a stigma ... and that was this case'

By Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News
September 2, 2004

It was a criminal case right out of Hollywood - one of the richest and most recognizable basketball players in the world, an exclusive resort, an admiring young woman, an alleged rape.

But even before the case against star guard Kobe Bryant made news, even before his superstar attorneys took aim at the allegations against him, the case against him was star-crossed.

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And it only got worse.

There was an arrest without the district attorney's approval. Embarrassing releases of sealed court documents. One damaging revelation about the victim after another.

And then, finally, dismissal.

"For some reason, and I can't explain it, there are certain cases that just get a stigma to them and they just continue to spiral downhill - and that was this case," said Denver defense attorney Harvey Steinberg. "This case was snake-bitten from the day that Kobe Bryant was arrested, and it looked like the prosecution was behind the 8 ball and never recovered."

Attorney and legal analyst Scott Robinson was just as blunt.

"The case started off on the wrong foot and has gone steadily downhill ever since - setback after setback," he said.

Just how troublesome was this case for prosecutors, both in front of the judge and in the court of public opinion? Consider two snapshots, one more than a year ago, one last week.

In the first, Eagle County sheriff's investigators went around District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, taking a proposed arrest warrant for Bryant to a judge, who signed it. Then, after Bryant returned to Colorado to turn himself in, sheriff's officials announced they and Hurlbert had "concluded they had enough evidence to charge Kobe Bryant with felony sexual assault."

Not so, Hurlbert countered.

"The DA has not decided on charges," Hurlbert said. "The sheriff's office went and got a warrant without the DA's office OK."

Last week, it was the prosecution in front of the judge, seeking a delay in the trial with a claim that some of the defense's DNA evidence might be tainted. Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle dressed down the prosecution team, accusing them of trying to "disrupt the whole process" with an "untimely" motion. In between, the case was anything but smooth sailing.

Questions arose about the character of Bryant's alleged victim, amid reports that she'd been hospitalized at college because she was a "danger" to herself, that she'd been rushed to another hospital after overdosing on drugs, that she had second thoughts about filing charges against Bryant, that she had entered a rehabilitation center for substance abuse and sexual trauma.

At the same time, Bryant's attorneys raised questions about the woman's sexual history, including allegations during a preliminary hearing that she had sex with three men in three days and the accompanying implication that another man could have inflicted the physical trauma that prosecutors accused Bryant of causing.

Hurlbert stepped aside, turning the case over to other prosecutors.

And even a B-movie screenwriter couldn't have imagined other errors that occurred during the past 14 months.

Twice the alleged victim's name was mistakenly posted on the state court Web site. A court reporter accidentally e-mailed transcripts of a closed-door hearing on the woman's sexual history to reporters.

And a hospital erred in sending her medical records to Bryant's defense team.

John Clune, an attorney for the young woman, alluded to those mistakes on Wednesday as prosecutors pulled the plug on the case.

"The difficulties that this case has imposed on this woman the past year are unimaginable," Clune told the judge.

Even the judge who handled the preliminary hearing last fall took a shot at prosecutors.

In ruling that Bryant should be bound over for trial, he pointed to a "minimal amount of evidence," adding "almost all of the evidence introduced at the preliminary hearing permits multiple inferences."

All of it, and ultimately the alleged victim's apprehension about appearing in court and testifying against Bryant, put the prosecutors in an impossible situation.

"Their position at this point is untenable," Steinberg said. "I say that because for them, at this late, late moment, to request that the case be dismissed leaves them with egg on their face and nothing less than that.

"It's the biggest case in the world for these prosecutors, and how does it look? In a strange sort of way they'd have been better off putting their case on and letting a jury decide than this."

Statement by 5th Judicial District Attorney Mark Hurlbert:

"Today, I have reluctantly made the difficult decision to dismiss the case of People of the State of Colorado vs. Kobe Bryant. This decision was made after several meetings with the victim, her family and her attorney.

"In every case there are ethical minimums in terms of quantity of evidence for a prosecutor to go forward. I have absolutely no doubt that those ethical standards were met and exceeded as long as the jury had the opportunity to see and hear the facts of what happened in that room from the victim herself. I have no doubt that that bar cannot be reached without the willing cooperation of this crime victim in this trial.

"This prosecution team wants to try this case, I want to try this case and have the evidence heard by 12 citizens of this community.

"However, the victim has informed us, after much of her own labored deliberation, that she does not want to proceed with this trial. For this reason, and this reason only, the case is being dismissed.

"Throughout the prosecution of this defendant, we have consistently supported this victim and have respected her needs. A trial can be traumatic for any victim of any crime, more so with the victim of a sexual assault, and even more so with the victim of a sexual assault whose victimization has been subject to worldwide scrutiny. We admire the courage, strength and integrity the victim has displayed throughout the past year. She is truly an amazing person.

"Today, justice is sadly interrupted. The casualty in this interruption has been a brave young woman who was grievously hurt.

"This decision is not based upon a lack of my office's commitment to the case.

"With the victim we truly felt we had a great case and that justice would prevail. Our commitment to this case remains strong.

"This decision is not based upon a lack of belief of the victim.

"She is an extremely credible and brave young woman and our belief in her has not wavered over the past year.

"This decision is not based upon the lack of the ability of the trial team.

"Ingrid Bakke, Dana Easter and Gregg Crittenden are three dedicated, talented prosecutors, and I would put them up against anyone, anywhere in this country. And I thank them for their dedication and hard work in this case.

"Ultimately, we all must respect that this is this crime victim's personal decision and, candidly, this team understands why she may have misgivings about her rights being respected in this process."

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.