Hurlbert, seeking re-election, cites other responsibilities

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
July 1, 2004

Eagle District Attorney Mark Hurlbert surprised many Wednesday by announcing he will no longer be part of the in-court Kobe Bryant prosecution team.

"I have a duty to every citizen in the 5th Judicial District," Hurlbert said in a prepared statement. "And if I maintain a high level of involvement in this case, I would be neglecting that duty."

Advertisement

The 5th District includes Eagle, Summit, Lake and Clear Creek counties.

Hurlbert's announcement came one year to the day after the incident that triggered the sexual-assault charge against Bryant, an encounter between the Los Angeles Lakers star and a concierge at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards.

Bryant, who is married, pleaded not guilty in the case May 11. He has admitted to having sex with his alleged victim, who is now 20, but maintains that it was consensual.

The prosecution team for Bryant's trial, which begins Aug. 27, is now composed of Eagle Chief Deputy District Attorney Gregg Crittenden and prosecutors Ingrid Bakke and Dana Easter, who are on loan from the district attorney's offices in Boulder and Jefferson counties, respectively.

"The question has to arise whether he is abandoning a sinking ship," former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said of Hurlbert's announcement. "Why start what you can't finish?"

But Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, disagrees.

"I don't think that's the scenario," said Recht. "Otherwise why would Bakke and Easter stay on? They each have an easier out than Hurlbert does."

Crediting Hurlbert with "an amazing lack of ego," Recht said, "These kinds of cases come along less than once in a lifetime. It's seemingly a righteous decision on his part."

Denver criminal defense lawyer Craig Skinner also differed with Silverman's perspective.

"Hurlbert is a young lawyer, and things have obviously not been going very efficiently for the prosecution," said Skinner.

"Maybe somebody has said that someone else needs to take the helm up there. It might be that he's in over his head and they just needed to stir up the hierarchy."

Hurlbert, 35, is a first-term district attorney who was appointed to his post in December 2002. He is now campaigning for election to his first full term on Nov. 2.

District attorneys in Colorado rarely lead a prosecution effort in the courtroom, typically leaving that task to trusted deputies - except for occasional high-profile cases.

Still, Hurlbert had been present for every pretrial hearing for Bryant to date.

And it was Hurlbert who announced to the world on July 18 that he was charging Bryant with the Class 3 felony that could put the popular 25-year-old multimillionaire athlete behind bars for a term of four years to life.

"What the team loses is the charisma and physical attractiveness that is part and parcel of Mark Hurlbert," said Denver criminal defense lawyer and legal analyst Scott Robinson.

"But there is no shortage of capable trial technicians left - particularly Dana Easter, who is a wonderful and devoted prosecutor."

Robinson added, however, "Any time a prosecution team loses a member, there is going to be some diminution of effectiveness.

"But the problems facing the Bryant prosecution team are far greater than the loss of Mark Hurlbert."

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.