George Kochaniec Jr. © News Members of Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant's defense team Kym Stewart, left, and Rivka Morgan Sherman carry dinner into the Eagle County Justice Center on Monday as jury selection in Bryant's sexual- assault trial continued into the night. The trial is tentatively set to begin the day after Labor Day.

Grilling of residents gets under way

By Charlie Brennan And Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
August 31, 2004

EAGLE - Prospective jurors found themselves seated in a small room Monday with Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant as they were grilled one-by-one on sensitive and potentially embarrassing topics to determine their suitability to hear the rape case against him.

They were the first of up to 276 Eagle County residents who will be pressed to talk about subjects such as their experiences with black people, whether they have had any contact with Bryant's alleged victim or her family, or whether exposure to media coverage of the legal saga might affect their abilities to be impartial.

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By the time jury selection work ended at 8:30 p.m. Monday, one-on-one questioning had been completed for the first two groups, numbering 41 potential jurors each. A third group of 41 is expected to present itself at the Eagle County Justice Center at 8:30 a.m. today, to continue the process.

Over the weekend, lawyers and Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle had pared a list of 300 potential jurors down to 205, based on their written responses Friday to a list of 82 questions aimed at learning their feelings and attitudes on an array of issues pertaining to the case.

Another 71 jury candidates - who originally had been called for an unrelated civil case that was settled at the last minute - were also asked to complete the Bryant questionnaires Monday.

Those 71 have been instructed to call the courthouse number at the close of business Wednesday to learn if they will be subjected to further questioning and considered for Bryant's jury, which will be composed of 12 jurors and two alternates.

Karen Salaz, spokeswoman for the Colorado Judicial Branch, expressed optimism that a jury can be seated by late Friday, keeping the trial on schedule for opening statements tentatively set to begin the day after Labor Day. But the judge and attorneys worked into the night, with dinner delivered to the courthouse entrance and carried inside by one of Bryant's bodyguards.

Monday's court session was delayed at the outset by a hearing on a media motion to improve its opportunity to observe the questioning now under way on sensitive issues such as race, whether they or a family member has experience with sexual assault, and whether they have formed opinions about the case based on press and television reports.

Denver attorney Steve Zansberg, representing a consortium of 12 media groups, told Ruckriegle that greater openness "is essential to maintain public trust in the judicial system."

But prosecutor Dana Easter countered that it is going to be a tremendous challenge to seat an impartial jury in the case, which has generated global publicity for more nearly 14 months. Forcing jurors to discuss their opinions on highly sensitive matters in front of the media, she said, could make it impossible.

"There is a very real danger here that we will not be able to get a jury at all," Easter said. "If the press really reported what is going to happen to these jurors, I don't think we'd find anyone willing to serve."

Ruckriegle rejected Zansberg's plea, stating that juror privacy and Bryant's rights to a fair trial trump the media's First Amendment claims to a more open proceeding. The judge identified five specific questions that jury candidates may be quizzed on in private, with neither the media nor other potential jurors present.

Once that decision was made Monday morning, Ruckriegle and the opposing lawyers set to work with their questioning. In the first group of 41 jury candidates to enter Ruckriegle's court, none were black.

Legal experts weren't surprised that Ruckriegle is keeping some of the questioning under the cloak of privacy.

"It's always difficult, but better in that small room with just a few people," said former Denver prosecutor Karen Steinhauser, now a professor at the University of Denver College of Law.

"The judge will tell them, 'We don't want to embarrass you in any way, but we need to find out how you feel about these things.' "

She acknowledged that discussing the case and their feelings with Bryant seated a short distance away won't be easy.

"He has a right to be there," Steinhauser said. "It's horrible to have to talk to strangers, in any event. The fact that one of those is an NBA celebrity, I'm not sure makes it any worse than it already is."

Meanwhile, News 4 on Monday reported that it had obtained a copy of the 22-page witness list, showing that 150 people have been endorsed as trial witnesses by the two sides. The list contained few surprises, although one name included was that of Jeff Shapiro, a former reporter for the Globe supermarket weekly. Shapiro authored a book on the case, which was published in February. It was not clear whether it is the prosecution or the defense that plans to call him.

Some key questions

Potential Kobe Bryant jurors have been asked to answer 82 questions in written form to help determine their suitability to hear and decide the case. On Monday, Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle identified five that, depending how they were answered, may lead to more in-depth questioning this week behind closed doors:

• No. 49: Have you, or anyone close to you, including a child, ever been the victim of any form of sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance or family member). If yes, please explain.

• No. 50: Have you, or anyone close to you, ever felt in danger of being sexually assaulted by another person, including a stranger, acquaintance or family member? If yes, please explain.

• No. 54: This case involves charges of sexual assault. Is there any experience that you or anyone close to you has had that may affect your ability to serve fairly as a juror in a case such as this? If yes, please explain.

• No. 56: Have you ever been afraid of, or had any negative experience with, an African-American individual? If yes, please explain.

• No. 73: Have you or anyone you know had any contact with (the alleged victim), any member of her family, or any of her close friends?

brennanc@rockymountainews.com or 303-892-2742

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