June 20, 2004

We won't speculate on why District Judge Terry Ruckriegle decided that Kobe Bryant's attorneys ought to have access to text messages exchanged by the woman who has accused him of rape, a former boyfriend of hers and a third person shortly after Bryant's encounter with her.

We can't even say which side might be bolstered by the ruling, because all the judge said Thursday is that the text messages "contain information that is relevant for discovery." He ordered the contents be kept sealed for now in case it is later decided they won't be used at trial.

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However, we do agree that text messages should be treated in the same way as other potential evidence. That is, the judge, as a disinterested party, has to balance the defendant's rights to any evidence that might help to prove his innocence with the accuser's rights, under the rape shield law, to a considerable measure of privacy.

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