Accuser to face Bryant

EAGLE - Kobe Bryant's alleged victim is scheduled to face the basketball superstar in court for the first time today.

The appearance of the 19-year-old Eagle woman is expected to feature the most explicit sexual testimony to date, with high stakes for the prosecution, according to one legal analyst.

The woman's friends are sorry that she must testify about such personal and painful issues, said Eagle resident L.D. Alderson, the mother of a friend of the alleged victim.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court earlier this month to limit the questioning of the alleged victim, who at one point attended the University of Northern Colorado.

"Her friends in Eagle are 100 percent supportive and, I think, truly disappointed by the judge's decision and the Supreme Court," Alderson said. "We all just ache for her that she is going to have to go through this after what she's been through already."

But none of the courtroom words or emotion may be made public, at least during the next two days.

The closed hearing will address the alleged victim's sexual history - and possibly other intimate aspects of her life. The judge may also hear arguments on whether statements Bryant made to investigators are admissible at his trial.

Colorado Judicial Branch spokeswoman Karen Salaz did not expect the courtroom doors to open to the public at any time during scheduled hearings today and Thursday.

Eagle County District Judge Terry Ruckriegle will consider the alleged victim's testimony when he decides whether to admit any of her sexual history in the trial.

For Bryant's attorneys, the testimony may help determine whether the woman had sex with other men in the days surrounding the June 30 incident.

Denver attorney and former prosecutor Craig Silverman, who has attended the pretrial hearings in Eagle, said the testimony will be "X-rated."

"She is not only going to be asked about sexual acts, she is going to have to name sexual partners," Silverman said. "She's going to have to describe the amount of foreplay, the position, the duration. All the things a person doesn't generally talk about."

Bryant's attorneys want to determine if her vaginal injuries occurred during sex with other men.

"It's all relevant to who might have contributed to this injury," Silverman said.

Bryant's attorneys could land a "knockout blow" if the woman testifies that she had sex, as alleged by the defense team, less than 15 hours after the encounter with Bryant.

"If the defense can put on evidence that she had sex after Kobe Bryant but before she went to the cops, there is no way that a jury will vote guilty," Silverman said.

He thinks the young woman will end up testifying about other issues that have been mentioned in court filings and in the media, such as stories of alleged past suicide attempts and alleged drug use.

Denver attorney Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, also expects detailed sexual testimony.

Recht and Silverman underscored the difficulty of talking about such matters with anyone.

"I wouldn't doubt if they (the prosecution) used a therapist in conjunction with her preparing to testify," Recht said.

The prosecution, Recht said, may have its own counterbalancing strategy to the defense questioning.

Recht does not expect the woman to testify that she had sex in the hours following her encounter with Bryant, in part because a private attorney representing her has already denied it. And even if it is true, the Eagle County district attorney does not appear deterred.

"Look, the prosecution knows exactly what she's going to say. They've talked to her, and they haven't dismissed the case," he said.

Death threats have been leveled against the alleged victim, so security this week has been adjusted, said Eagle County Undersheriff Ken Wilson. He declined to specify the changes.

Wilson said he did not know if the media or public would be able to see the alleged victim.

Bryant was expected to make a public entrance through the front doors, as he usually has, Wilson said.

Bryant's accuser makes first court appearance

Kobe Bryant's accuser testified about her sex life for more than three hours Wednesday during a closed-door hearing that will determine whether any of the information can be introduced at the NBA star's rape trial.
The 19-year-old woman sat in a courtroom just a few feet from Bryant, the first time they had faced each other since their encounter last summer.
Experts said she was probably questioned about the most intimate details of her life.
"The hard questions will make her quite sober as to what she's got to face and maybe put it in her mind what will happen at trial," said Southwestern University School of Law professor Robert Pugsley.
The tall blonde slipped into the courthouse through a fire exit as her parents entered through another door. Appearing calm and composed, she ignored a throng of reporters and photographers as she walked into the courtroom. She was finished by lunch, though it was unclear whether she will have to return for more testimony.
The next witness was Mandy Ross, a former roommate of the woman at the University of Northern Colorado. Also in the courthouse was Robert Pietrack, a high school classmate of the woman who worked as a bellhop at the resort where the alleged attack took place. He is believed to be the first person she spoke to after the incident.
Bryant, 25, faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted of felony sexual assault. The Los Angeles Lakers guard has said he had consensual sex last June with the woman at the Vail-area resort.
The defense says the woman had multiple sexual partners the week of the alleged assault and that semen from someone other than Bryant was found in her underwear during a hospital exam.
The defense says her sexual history should be admitted because it could show her injuries were caused by another sexual partner and that she had a "scheme" to have sex with Bryant and others, possibly to gain the attention of an ex-boyfriend.
The prosecution fought to limit defense questioning, but was rebuffed by state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle and the Colorado Supreme Court.
Former prosecutor Craig Silverman, who has been following the case, said the hearing was an "audition" for the trial during which both sides can learn about each other and about the woman's behavior as a witness.
"I imagine they (Bryant's attorneys) will be soft and easy at the start to gather as much as possible and wait until the end to become belligerent to see how she reacts," Silverman said.
Colorado's rape-shield law, like others around the country, generally bars defense attorneys from bringing up information about an alleged victim's sex life. Judges, however, can hear such testimony in private to determine whether the information is relevant and admissible as evidence.
Pugsley said defense attorneys will probably try to intimidate prosecutor Mark Hurlbert into dropping the case by showing him what they know about the woman. Hurlbert, who declined comment Wednesday, has said he is confident he has enough evidence for a conviction.
Another closed-door hearing resumes Thursday on a request by Bryant's lawyers to throw out evidence including the NBA star's recorded statements to investigators and a T-shirt stained with the accuser's blood.

if your daughter (or your wife) gets raped and she's not a virgin be prepared for the judge to ask some very intimate questions.

I don't have a problem with that.

The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution gives an accuser the right to confront his accuser.

In biblical times, a rape victim was supposed to start screaming as soon as her rapist released her, and she was supposed to make a big spectacle to let the whole town know about the rape right away.

False accusations of rape are as old as Genesis. Good boy Joseph was falsely accused of rape by a scorned woman, and he was unfairly sentenced to life in prison.

I'm glad I live in a country where both the right of the accuser and the right of accused are carefully balanced.

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