[Howlin]

A defense - I don't know how he can defend himself.

So, shall we just take the word of this girl, without looking into her background and her mental state? I mean, because she said it, is it the truth? You yourself said that she didn't go to the hospital for two days; the detective didn't "see" anything on her neck or face; unless you investigate her, how will you ever know what the truth is?

I don't think questioning of the accuser is a "smear" job until they start doing what they did today.

Well, today is the first day they've been able to question anybody about her; what questions are acceptable that wouldn't be considered "smearing" her?

[Peach]

Howlin -

We're all confused about when she went to the hospital. It might have been the next day; we have all seen different reporting.

Although the detective didn't see anything on her neck, the nurse did and took photographs.

I have said that I believe her confidential medical records should remain closed UNLESS there is evidence in there that suggests she's made unsubstantiated charges before. If she has, the defense will bring those men forward. That is permitted and appropriate.

You surely don't want me to list the questions that would be acceptable. It's a job I couldn't do anyway.

What is NOT acceptable is to say her name over and over in court (it's against the law) and to make charges without substantiating them. They said she had sex with 3 men in 3 days. The judge closed the court immediately and will reopen next Wednesday. We will see if they can substantiate that charge. If they cannot, that is a smear job and unacceptable as surely any reasonable person would agree. Lying and making stuff up is smearing the victim.

We've seen it over and over. Not every woman who is raped is trashy, unstable, etc. Inject the negative adjective. You've heard them all. But to listen to the defense attorneys in these cases, every woman who is raped is all those negative thing. That is not fair play.

[connectthedots]

I believe the encounter betweeen the girl and Kobe occured very, very late at night or very early in the morning. This might explain the confusion about the 1 vs. 2-day time frame. If the day of the rape was actually in the early a.m. and she went to the police early the following day, which in my opinion is not waiting too long, it would have been approximately 30 or so hours after the alleged rape. One day to get your thoughts together is not too long in my opinion.

I think the 1 vs. 2 days depends on what day you claim the alleged rape occurred.

Personally, I think Kobe has some major problems with his defense. As a younger woman, any degree of foreplay would have resulted in enough lubrication to avoid vaginal tearing in consensual sex. If it was consensual, Kobe would have stopped until the lubrication was sufficient to avoid any pain. I doubt that Kobe would be willing to provide any evidence to support a claim that even with lubrication, vaginal tearing would likely have occured with consensual intercourse.