Posted on 07/31/2003 7:54:22 AM PDT by Recourse
Posted on Thu, Jul. 31, 2003
Prosecutors say Kobe lied to authorities
Report: D.A.'s case will focus on injuries, 'inconsistencies' in statements
By GEORGE MERRITT & CHRIS FRATES Denver Post
EAGLE, Colo. - Prosecutors will argue that basketball star Kobe Bryant and his 19-year-old accuser had some consensual sexual contact, but the intercourse was not consensual, unnamed sources have told ABC News.
Sources also told ABC the prosecution will argue Bryant "deceived law-enforcement officials and that he gave inconsistent statements."
District Attorney Mark Hurlbert deferred questions to a spokeswoman, who would not comment on the report.
Hurlbert, however, has said there was "alleged sexual penetration or intrusion" and that Bryant caused "submission of the victim through actual physical force."
Hurlbert charged Bryant July 18 with one count of felony sexual assault after the woman, an employee at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, accused the Los Angeles Lakers star of sexual assault stemming from a June 30 incident at the resort.
After he was charged, Bryant admitted to having sex with the woman, but he maintained the sex was consensual.
Still, Denver trial lawyer Craig Silverman said it may not matter if Bryant lied to investigators.
"I don't think it means a lot," Silverman said. "In the post-Bill Clinton era it's not surprising that a married man would lie about a martial infidelity."
Bryant was in Colorado for a scheduled knee surgery when the incident occurred. He was contacted by the Eagle County Sheriff's office on July 1 and submitted DNA samples at a local hospital. He was arrested July 4.
If convicted, Bryant faces four years to life in prison. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, though it is unclear whether he will be there in person or whether a representative will appear on his behalf.
The judge in the case, Frederick Gannett, warned news organizations yesterday not to publish or broadcast the name or photograph of any witness, juror, potential juror or the alleged victim and her family on the courthouse grounds. Any organization violating the order could be denied a seat in the courtroom.
Gannett will hear arguments today on whether the records should be made public.
Attorneys for media organizations - including the Los Angeles Times, Denver Post and NBC - have argued that many details have been publicized already.
Hurlbert and defense lawyers want to keep the records sealed, arguing that publicity could affect Bryant's right to a fair trial. Defense attorneys Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon also have asked Gannett to reconsider an earlier order allowing cameras in the courtroom during next week's hearing.
I used to believe that. I no longer practice law.
I posted this on another thread, but thought it may be os some interest to you and others who didn't see it before:
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Withdrawn Consent Is Not a Defense to Forcible Rape, S.C. Rules
By KENNETH OFGANG, Staff Writer/Appellate Courts
Consent is not a defense to a charge of forcible rape if the accused persists following the withdrawal of that consent, the California Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
In a 6-1 decision, with Justice Janice Rogers Brown the lone dissenter, the justices affirmed lower court rulings committing a juvenile offender from El Dorado County, identified as John Z., to Crystal Creek Boys Ranch.
The complainant, Laura T., was 17 years old at the time of the March 2000 incident. She acknowledged that she willingly visited John at his house and allowed John and his friend Juan G. to take off her clothes and fondle her.
But she became upset, she said, when Juan got on top of her and tried to have intercourse. When his condom fell off, she said, she told him “maybe it’s a sign we shouldn’t be doing this,” and he said “fine” and left the room.
After that, she testified, John came in and told her he really cared about her and Juan didn’t. John told her she was “really beautiful,” and that he wanted her to be his girlfriend. They kissed, she said, before he rolled on top of her and began to attempt intercourse.
Laura said she tried to get him to stop, insisting several times that she had to go home, but that John “just stayed inside of me and kept like basically forcing it on me.” He persisted, she said, for several minutes, saying “just give me a minute” and “give me some time” before heeding her pleas to stop.
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In this story, the female consented to sexual activity short of intercourse, so she claimed. She was not slapped, held down or beaten. The two males convicted came and went from the room several times. She could have left at several points. The male who she alleged held her on top of him for five minutes even admitted he stopped after about a minute or two when she said "she needed to go home" and "they shouldn't be doing this". But the jury still convicted the male, even though he did eventually stop.
Other courts have ruled that there is this concept of "withdrawn consent", and many States have it codefied in law. Regardless of one's agreement or diagreement(I understand your point totally), courts have ruled that a woman can withdraw consent at any point, and lack of immediate recognition of this by the male will result in forcible rape.
If this "withdrawn consent" occurred in the Kobe incident, then I would be highly surprised if he hasn't dunked his last basketball in the NBA.
I'll wait for a trial, but this "withdrawn consent" has been rumored since the indictment. I thought this is probably what happened as well. The law isn't on Kobe's side if that is what happened.
OK, that's the law in California. What about Colorado?
If anal sex takes place in the woods and nobody is their to witness it, did an ass get corked?
And if she swallow,
it don't follow.
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