In court today, judge could set a time for start of proceedings

By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
May 27, 2004

An array of issues will be dealt with when Kobe Bryant returns to court today in his sexual assault case, but the greatest interest could be on an item not even on the schedule.

A date for Bryant's trial - expected to last at least three weeks - has not been set, but that could change today.

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Bryant pleaded not guilty at his last hearing, May 11. That set the 180-day speedy trial clock ticking, meaning a jury must be empaneled and sworn in no later than Nov. 8.

Attorneys for both sides have said they could be ready by August or early September.

Karen Salaz, spokeswoman for the Colorado Judicial Branch, said it's not known whether Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle will set a date during today's hearing.

"I truly do not have a clue," Salaz said. "Even though it is not on (Ruckriegle's) scheduling order, that does not preclude him from setting a date. However, he would have to consult with the parties, before doing that."

Much of today's hearing, unlike most which have been held in recent months, will take place in open court.

Among the items lawyers will argue before Ruckriegle are whether Bryant's lawyers will be permitted at trial to present testimony from their own experts to attack Eagle County sheriff's investigators' handling of the crime scene.

Although the 19-year-old alleged victim told detectives she was raped over a chair in Bryant's room at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, Bryant's lawyers have described as "woeful" detectives' failure to preserve the chair as evidence, examine fibers beneath it, preserve towels from the bathroom where she allegedly composed herself and recover her used tissues from wastebaskets.

"If I were the judge, I would certainly not prevent the defense from critiquing the preservation of evidence in Bryant's hotel room," said Denver defense lawyer and legal analyst Scott Robinson.

But Robinson questioned how much might have been found of forensic value in Bryant's room at the posh resort. More than 24 hours had passed since the alleged crime, by the time Detectives Doug Winters and Dan Loya visited Bryant in the Cordillera's room 35.

Robinson said it was likely that linens and towels had already been changed and wastebaskets emptied.

"But this is a hotel room sexual assault, and the type of evidence that most investigators are looking for is generally found on the persons and clothing of the two parties involved," Robinson said.

"In a case like this, you don't generally look around to see if there are tissues in the wastebasket. And, while it would have been better to have seen if such evidence existed, it certainly isn't grounds for dismissal, under Colorado law."

Another issue to be tackled today is a defense bid to obtain AT&T records of text messages linked to the alleged victim's cell phone.

Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, expects the defense will win that one.

But whether the defense gets to use that material - or other evidentiary items it still seeks from the prosecution - is another question, said Recht.

"It's a two-step process," said Recht. "First, the defense is saying the prosecution has to give us all of this information, and then we can look at it. And if we want to let the jury know about it, we can raise it, and the prosecution can then object to it.'

"Later," Recht said, "the judge can decide whether the jury hears about it."

A secondary issue is whether today's hearing will force Bryant to miss a significant portion of Game 4 of the National Basketball Association Western Conference Finals, in which his Los Angeles Lakers hold a 2-1 advantage over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742

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