Free Republic

DENVER - Attorneys for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape have launched a startling attack on the trial judge, accusing him of trying to protect himself by imposing an unconstitutional gag order only after their client was "devastated" by some of the NBA star's evidence. John Clune and L. Lin Wood said the gag order threatens their client's reputation and her right to a fair trial of her allegations. The filing was released the same day state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle rejected a motion by the prosecution and the woman's attorneys asking that documents in the case not be...

Not guilty. The pre-ordained outcome of this year's most anticipated celebrity criminal trial (at least so far) is acquittal. There, it's said. Let the criticism fly for predicting a verdict months before trial, but no matter how this week's hearings on myriad motions turns out, Kobe Bryant will go free. Not because he hired fantastic defense attorneys, although his lawyers, Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon, are as capable and conscientious as they come. Nor is it because the prosecutors are poorly funded, overmatched or lackadaisical in their pursuit of justice. It's true that, for once in a criminal case, the...

Alleged rape victim to answer questions about her sex history 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...

<p>DENVER (AP) -- When the 19-year-old woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape walks into court on Wednesday, it will be the first time she has seen the NBA star since their encounter last June.</p> <p>Bryant, 25, has said the two had consensual sex in his room at a Vail-area resort where the woman worked. The Los Angeles Lakers star faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted of felony sexual assault.</p>

Defense team wants to know if woman plans lawsuit, book By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News March 16, 2004 If Kobe Bryant's alleged victim plans to sue the Los Angeles Lakers star or write a book about her case, his lawyers want to know about it now. Those are among the issues targeted by a defense motion made public Monday that enumerates points on which Bryant's lawyers claim prosecutors have failed to honor their legal obligation to turn over evidence that might bolster the athlete's defense. Defense lawyer Hal Haddon states in his 17-page motion that the Bryant team has...

DENVER (Reuters) - Colorado's highest court ruled on Thursday that the woman who accuses basketball star Kobe Bryant (news) of rape must testify about her sexual history in a closed pre-trial hearing despite prosecutors' efforts to limit the scope of questioning. Prosecutors had asked the Colorado Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the trial judge in Eagle County that gave defense lawyers permission to question the 19-year-old about her sexual history for a period covering about a year before she said she was raped. Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said in a statement; "We continue to have great...

DENVER, United States (AFP) - Prosecutors in NBA star Kobe Bryant's rape case filed an unusual appeal against a judge's refusal to limit questions about his alleged victim's sexual history during pre-trial hearings. Prosecutors appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court to spare Kobe Bryant's accuser from a potentially embarrassing and stressful grilling by his lawyers at an upcoming hearing in the basketball star's sexual assault case. Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert on Tuesday announced he had filed the appeal challenges judge Terry Ruckriegle's decision last week not to limit questioning of the 19-year-old woman Bryant allegedly assaulted June 30...

March 2, 2004 - EAGLE - Kobe Bryant's alleged victim had sex less than 15 hours after her encounter with the Los Angeles Lakers star, according to a defense brief filed Monday. Also, she has had sexual relations with two prosecution witnesses, defense attorney Pamela Mackey claimed in the same legal filing. Those defense allegations - which even if true, will not necessarily be admissible at Bryant's trial under the state's rape shield law - caused immediate shock waves Monday in Eagle District Court. "If this woman really had sex with somebody between the time she was with Kobe Bryant...

EAGLE, Colo. - The woman who accused Kobe Bryant of rape will face detailed questions about her sex life when she testifies in a closed hearing in three weeks, a judge has ruled. Hours after an attorney for Bryant's accuser denied a claim that the woman had sex with someone else the morning after the alleged attack, State District Judge Terry Ruckriegle made his decision. The 19-year-old woman is scheduled to face her alleged attacker for the first time in court in the March 24-25 hearing. The Los Angeles Lakers (news) star's attorneys subpoenaed her in hopes her testimony would...