Judge Rules No Cameras in Next Kobe Bryant Hearing

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Evidence almost guarantees Kobe Bryant trial

Monday, September 15, 2003 Posted: 9:54 AM EDT (1354 GMT)

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- When prosecutors go before a judge next month in the Kobe Bryant rape case, they will be armed with a wealth of evidence that leaves little doubt the NBA superstar will be ordered to stand trial, legal experts say.

Among the evidence expected to be offered at the preliminary hearing: A videotaped statement from the woman accusing Bryant of rape; photographs of injuries she allegedly suffered at his hands; a statement from Bryant himself that allegedly backs up some of the woman's claims.

"I've learned in this business never to say that anything or any case is a slam dunk," said Karen Steinhauser, a University of Denver Law School professor. "But with this particular case, I could probably say I would be shocked if probable cause were not found."

To persuade Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett to order a trial in state district court, prosecutors have to prove probable cause -- that Bryant might have committed the crime. In 20 years as a prosecutor, Steinhauser said, she saw only two cases dismissed at a preliminary hearing.

Bryant, 25, is charged with raping a 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 in his suite at a mountain resort where she worked and he was a guest. Bryant has said the two had consensual sex.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard, who is free on $25,000 bond, is scheduled to return to Eagle for the October 9 preliminary hearing. The evidence prosecutors plan to submit was described in a court filing last week.

Hearsay permitted

The rules of preliminary hearings in Colorado favor the prosecution over the defense. Prosecutors can introduce evidence that would not be allowed at trial -- including hearsay, a witness' recollection of statements by another person.

"In 99.9 percent of criminal cases in Colorado, a preliminary hearing is about as one-sided a proceeding as you can imagine," said Scott Robinson, a veteran Denver defense attorney. "The rules of evidence are not relaxed, they are absent."

Bryant's attorneys, Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon, could choose to waive the hearing, sending the case straight to trial and avoiding widespread publicity of information so far withheld from the public under a judge's order.

The defense asked Gannett to close the hearing to the public, saying prosecutors are likely to present evidence that would not be allowed at trial and might jeopardize Bryant's right to a fair trial.

Haddon and Mackey did not return calls for comment.

Robinson, who last month won acquittal for a client charged with murder in Eagle County, said the key investigator in the Bryant case, Doug Winters, is skilled and honest. He said Bryant's attorneys will consider Winters' credibility before choosing whether to waive the hearing.

"He's square, will give the full truth and nothing but the truth -- even if it helps the defense," Robinson said.

Demand to face accuser

One of the major questions is whether the accuser will be forced to testify in person, as Bryant's attorneys have demanded.

Prosecutors want that request thrown out, saying a court appearance would subject the accuser to anxiety and intimidation. They said they have enough evidence to make her testimony unnecessary.

Bryant's attorneys also want a hearing to determine whether the woman has waived her medical-record privacy rights. They are seeking records from hospitals and clinics where she may have been treated for mental health problems.

Without her testimony, the preliminary hearing becomes less valuable for the defense, analysts said.

"Apart from the legal niceties, it's a public relations battle," said Robert Pugsley, a professor at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

"I think the defense is filing the subpoena to say, `Is she afraid to show up and declare openly in court that this is what happened?"' he said.

Judge Rules No Cameras in Next Kobe Bryant Hearing
Mon September 8, 2003 05:26 PM ET

DENVER - A judge in the Kobe Bryant rape case on Monday denied a request from several media outlets and ruled that cameras will not be allowed in the basketball player's preliminary hearing next month.

Eagle County Judge Fred Gannett denied requests by Court TV and Denver's two local dailies, the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post, to have television and still cameras in the courtroom on Oct 9. Reporters will still be allowed in the courtroom.

The judge said under Colorado court rules expanded media coverage, such as the use of cameras, is not allowed in pretrial hearings in criminal cases, except for advisements and arraignments. Cameras were allowed at Bryant's advisement or initial appearance on Aug 6.

A preliminary hearing will be held on Oct. 9 to decide if Bryant, 25, will stand trial on charges he raped a 19-year-old concierge at a posh Colorado hotel where he was staying in late June.

Steven Zansberg, an attorney for The Denver Post, said the judge's order was based on the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct and is not the type that can be appealed.

Bryant has denied he raped the young woman and said the encounter was consensual sex.

Media outlets are appealing an Aug. 21 ruling by the judge that unsealed only a portion of documents in the case.

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Kobe Bryant's Lawyers Keeping Pressure on Accuser
Thu September 4, 2003 08:28 PM ET
DENVER - Lawyers for Kobe Bryant have asked a judge to hold a hearing to decide whether the woman who has accused the basketball star of rape has the right to keep confidential her medical records about an emergency trip to a hospital.

The defense wants to see the records, but attorneys for the hospital in Greeley, Colorado where the woman attended college, have said she has not waived her right to keep her medical records confidential.

Bryant's attorneys, Hal Haddon and Pamela Mackey, said in a filing made public on Thursday that an evidentiary hearing should be held to decide whether the woman "has waived her physician-patient privilege." No reasons were given as to why the defense believes she has waived her right.

The 19-year-old woman said Bryant, 25, raped her on June 30 at a posh Colorado resort where she worked as a concierge. He has denied he raped her and said the encounter was consensual sex.

The records the defense wants to see apparently relate to a time in February when the woman was hospitalized after police determined she was "a danger to herself."

The University of Northern Colorado, where the young woman is no longer a student, has never said she attempted suicide, although police decided to take her to the hospital because they believed she "was a danger to herself."

The defense has not disclosed why it wants to see the medical records, but other lawyers have said it may be an attempt to find a reason to discredit the woman's credibility.

Typically, a hospital notifies its attorney when it receives a subpoena requesting medical records, but in this case the clinic sent the records along to the judge and the attorneys did not find out till two days later.

At that point, the hospital attorneys said in a court filing the young woman has not waived her right to keep her medical records confidential, and, consequently, they consider that the records were sent to the judge in error and therefore should be destroyed.

Mike Tyson Offers Empathy for NBA Star Kobe Bryant
Mon August 25, 2003 05:57 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Former boxing champion Mike Tyson, who served three years in prison on a rape conviction, says he empathizes with basketball star Kobe Bryant and the sexual assault charges faced by the Los Angeles Lakers guard.

"I've been in an ordeal like him, and I know how easy it is for a young man to be a big shot, a big star in America's eyes and then get in another arena and he's nobody. That means the judicial arena," Tyson, 37, said in an interview airing Monday on the syndicated TV show "Access Hollywood."

The one-time heavyweight champion, convicted of rape in 1992 and suspended from professional boxing for biting the ears of Evander Holyfield during a 1997 bout, said he wished Bryant "the best" and urged the NBA star to stay close to his family.

"When it comes to the nitty-gritty, if he ever gets some (jail) time, which I hope he doesn't, and which I don't think he is going to, he's gotta keep in consideration who's gonna come see him, who's gonna be in touch, who's gonna be his contact if anything happens," Tyson said. "It can happen to anybody."

Bryant, 24, has been charged with class 3 sexual assault, the equivalent of rape under Colorado law, stemming from allegations made by a 19-year-old Colorado woman who worked as a concierge at a resort where he was staying in June. The athlete has denied he raped the woman, insisting their encounter was consensual and that his only wrongdoing was adultery.

He is due back in court Oct. 9 for a preliminary hearing that will determine whether he must stand trial. If convicted, he could face a sentence of four years to life in prison.

Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., on June 30, 2003

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