Posted on 10/08/2004 10:26:14 AM PDT by Hawk44
DENVER - Advocacy groups urged the media Thursday to refrain from identifying the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape while she pursues her civil lawsuit against the NBA star, despite a court ruling that will lift her anonymity in less than two weeks.
The woman's attorneys had asked U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to allow her to be known only as Jane Doe in court documents and during hearings. The judge rejected the request late Wednesday, saying it would be unfair to Bryant and that her privacy has already been invaded to the extent that granting her anonymity would have little effect.
The woman's name has been on the Internet for months, in part because of mistakes by courthouse staff in posting case filings on a Web site. Tabloid newspapers have published her name and photos, and she was repeatedly identified in a nationally syndicated talk-radio show last fall.
"The main thing we're concerned about is not as much as (her name being used in) the court documents, as we're hoping this doesn't open the door for the mainstream media outlets to print her name," said Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "Most people out there do not know her name. You actually have to look for it, and most people aren't going to actively look for her name."
The woman's attorneys said the ruling was not a surprise and that she had been prepared for it. They also said they had no intention of dropping the suit, which seeks unspecified damages.
Most news organizations, including The Associated Press, have policies against using names of alleged victims of sexual assault. The Rocky Mountain News had urged Matsch to keep court proceedings as open as possible.
"We're just pleased that the judge upheld the important principle of openness in public courts," News Editor John Temple said in the paper Thursday. He said the paper has decided not to print her name for now.
Geneva Overholser, a former Des Moines Register editor who discontinued her Web log for the Poynter Institute after editors declined to let her identify Bryant's accuser, said she thought the ruling would prompt many news organizations to name the woman.
She said she believed it was common practice for the media to identify accusers in such cases when they made the step from criminal to civil court.
"Effectively, her name is public and the mainstream media are not the gatekeepers they once were. Not only does this strike me as unfair, but it's impractical and has not protected her from death threats or protected her privacy," said Overholser, who was a central figure in the Register's Pulitzer Prize-winning series that graphically recounted a rape victim's ordeal.
In the 1990 series, an Iowa woman agreed to make her identity and ordeal public, helping to ease the stigma of rape.
Legal experts said federal judges rarely allow plaintiffs to remain anonymous, except in cases involving children or whistleblowers who might fear employer retaliation.
"Kobe Bryant has not ever been convicted of anything," Duke Law School professor Erwin Chemerinsky said. "He is at this moment innocent in the eyes of the law and yet he has been besmirched by being accused of rape."
Kevin Higgins of the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program said nationally, only 16 percent of alleged assault victims come forward to authorities. He said using the accuser's name in the civil case could discourage other accusers from even seeking help.
Your mena Kate Faber?
"Kevin Higgins of the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program said nationally, only 16 percent of alleged assault victims come forward to authorities."
If they don't come forward to authorities, how would anyone know they were assault victims? Did he just pull this number out of his ass?
Kate Faker
I take it you were in the room so know what happened and that it was consensual?
Isn't this a photo of all the guys she dated after Kobe?
How much has this cost Kobe? In attorneys, lost endorsements, a blown NBA season to some extent...and most of all, credibility. Of course he brought it on himself with his infidelity. But still it does seem unfair, after a whole year it turns out to apparently be a bogus allegation.
Kobe should file charges against her. This lottery rape scam game has to stop.
Actually it was more than a year. Didn't this start in early July of 2003?
"Kobe should file charges against her. This lottery rape scam game has to stop."
wholeheartedly agree
not to mention how mus=ch it has cost him from his own golddiggin wife and her family!
She's already been id'ed. Anyone standing in a supermarket line should know who she is by now.
I think saying "Kate Faber" can get you in trouble. So be sure not to say "Kate Faber" too loudly.
Why do you think she told the prosecutors that she couldn't go in with the case?
Because it's bogus and she knows that she has to prove less in civil court than criminal.
She's a whore as is evidenced by the state she finds herself currently in.
Is she suing him for rape?
Katelyn Kristine Faber Katelyn Kristine Faber Katelyn Kristine Faber Katelyn Kristine Faber
SO let's see. If someone claims she was raped and later on has an out of wedlock pregnancy, that means she lied about the rape.
That's funny. A friend of mine was raped by a sports figure (a coach), was smeared in the press, then later on had an out of wedlock child. By your logic I guess she was lying about the rape.
If having sex out of wedlock with more than one person makes one a "slut" who can't be believed, then I guess we can't believe Kobe Bryant either.
Oh, no, Smogger said it! CD, as acting bailiff, I order you to whack his - well, you know.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.