Free Republic

EAGLE, Colo. (AP) -- Kobe Bryant's trial judge rejected a prosecution request for an investigation into media leaks Friday as a key hearing began on whether the defense will be able to use his rape accuser's medical history against her. With the parents of the 19-year-old woman sitting in the courtroom, state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said trying to find out whether anyone involved in the case was giving sealed details to reporters would be a waste of time. The hearing, the first of two scheduled to determine what evidence will be allowed, began with two relatively minor issues:...

Prosecutors lay out case against Kobe Bryant Randy Wyrick Prosecutors Thursday said Kobe Bryant held his alleged victim by the throat, bent her over a chair in his hotel suite and raped her. But the NBA star's attorney questioned whether the young woman suffered any injuries from Bryant that night. Bryant appeared in Eagle County Court Thursday, where prosecutors and an Eagle County Sheriff's Office investigator laid out their case against him. They hope to convince Eagle County Court Judge Fred Gannett that it is probable a sexual assault occurred and that Bryant did it. If Gannett agrees, Bryant's case...

Sexual assault is one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute - to win - local attorneys say. In the past two years, for example, Eagle County juries have come back with two convictions and three acquittals in sexual assault cases that went to trial. "Sexual assault cases are hard to prosecute because of the dynamics," says District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, who is in charge of the prosecution on the case of Lakers star Kobe Bryant. "And that is because of the embarrassment of the victims and the myths people have on sexual assault issues." "Less clear-cut evidence' Although it's...

Friends and family of Kobe Bryant's accuser have some advice for those continuing to talk to the national media swarming all over the story: Cut it out. "I would encourage people to not talk to the media," said Krista Flannigan, spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office. "If they have information, they should give it to the district attorney. The district attorney is prosecuting the case, not the media." Flannigan said the alleged victim's family has asked her friends to stop granting interviews and most have gone along. "They've contacted some of the friends and asked them not to talk any...