Motion says alleged victim is suffering as case 'lingers on'

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
April 3, 2004

Now it's the prosecutors who are growing impatient.

One week after the mother of Kobe Bryant's alleged victim urged a judge to move the case forward, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert has done the same.

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Hurlbert filed a motion Friday asking that Bryant be arraigned and that he enter a plea to the rape charge he's facing.

Were he to do so, it would set the six-month speedy-trial clock ticking, requiring a trial date to be set within that time frame - unless Bryant waived his right to a trial on that schedule.

"The emotional and mental toll on her (Bryant's alleged victim) is truly devastating as this case lingers on," Hurlbert's motion stated.

The Eagle County Sheriff's Department arrested the Los Angeles Lakers star July 4 for the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 in nearby Edwards.

Bryant has publicly admitted to adultery in that encounter but said their contact was consensual.

During a pretrial hearing last week, an attorney representing the alleged victim filed a motion asking that District Judge Terry Ruckriegle work toward a "swift" resolution of the case.

That motion was accompanied by a letter from the woman's mother saying her daughter's "life is on hold and her safety is in jeopardy until this case is over."

The mother's letter claimed her daughter has been the target of numerous death threats and that she has been forced to move four times in the past six months to avoid unwanted attention.

Hurlbert's motion stated that the prosecution has "not caused any delay in this case."

It goes on to acknowledge that prosecutors initially refused to allow a defense expert to be present while destructive DNA tests were conducted on some forensic evidence but noted that objection was subsequently dropped.

And, Hurlbert's motion stated, while that dispute was ongoing, motions on other pretrial issues proceeded to be heard by the judge and that the "negotiations" on the DNA tests issue delayed nothing.

Bryant's team is expected to answer Hurlbert's claim Monday.

Lawyer Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, said he doubts the latest prosecution move would be unwelcomed by the Bryant defense.

"The defense will be tickled pink with this because they also want to enter a plea," Recht said. "They want this to move forward, and this will force it to move.''

Most observers of the case believe the Bryant defense wants the athlete's trial, expected to last at least two to three weeks, to take place between National Basketball Association seasons.

The Lakers' regular season ends April 14, but they have clinched a spot in the league playoffs, slated to begin April 17. The NBA finals are set to end no later than June 20.

"I don't think this will upset the defense at all," Recht said.

Unlike many Colorado jurisdictions, district court judges in Eagle County are known to prefer that pretrial motions be addressed prior to arraignments and the entering of pleas.

In most other districts, that order is reversed.

Former Denver District Attorney Norm Early was not surprised to learn of Hurlbert's motion.

"If you believe what was in the note that accompanied the (alleged victim's attorney's) motion last week, this woman has been going through living hell," Early said, "and I'm sure she would want to know when that living hell is going to end."

brennanc@RockyMountain News.com or 303-892-2742

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.