By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
October 24, 2003

The Kobe Bryant sexual assault case will be handled by Fifth Judicial District Chief Judge Terry Ruckriegle, it was announced Thursday.

"He's very experienced and no stranger to high-profile cases," said Denver criminal defense lawyer Scott Robinson. "He'll maintain control."

Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett's jurisdiction over the case concluded Monday with his ruling that the case should be sent on to the district court level for trial.

Ruckriegle is scheduled to first see Bryant on Nov. 10, when the Los Angeles Lakers star is due to appear in district court for arraignment and to be advised of the charge against him.

Bryant also may enter a plea at that time.

Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, who is defending a current murder case that is scheduled to be heard by Ruckriegle, said the Bryant trial will not be "an O.J. Simpson circus."

"He's a smart, no-nonsense judge, who clearly maintains control of his courtroom," said Recht.

Some had expected the case to go to Eagle District Judge Thomas Moorhead, under a rotation system that judicial district uses. Colorado Judicial branch spokeswoman Karen Salaz said Thursday it was Ruckriegle's decision that it would be his case - not Moorhead's.

"There was great thought given as to who would be the best judge for this extraordinary case, looking at what would be the most appropriate, considering case flows and case loads," said Salaz.

Ruckriegle, 56, graduated from Indiana University with a business degree in 1969 and a law degree in 1973.

He served as a prosecutor in the Fifth Judicial District Attorney's Office in Georgetown for nine years and has served on the district court bench since 1984.

Ruckriegle has acted as chief judge of the four-county Fifth Judicial District since 1994, sitting primarily in Breckenridge and Georgetown.

brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-2742

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