Free Republic

EAGLE - In a dramatic last-minute default, prosecutors dropped rape charges against Kobe Bryant Wednesday, saying the young woman who accused the basketball star of assault doesn't want to go forward with the case. Bryant went from alleged assailant to apologist after a stunning one-day turn of events, capping a case that seemed doomed from the start. "I want to apologize directly to the young woman involved in this incident," Bryant said in a statement. "I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year. "Although this year...

Finding, mistakenly posted on Web site, could bolster defense Kobe Bryant's own DNA and that of his alleged victim were found on him at his rape exam, but not the fluids of a third person that showed up on the young woman. The finding, part of a sealed order that was posted briefly by mistake on the state judiciary's Web site, could bolster the defense theory that the alleged victim was with "three men in three days." "They'll make the arguments that someone had intercourse with the victim post-Kobe Bryant," said Dr. Phil Danielson, director of the University of Denver's...

EAGLE, Colo. -- Kobe Bryant's attorneys suggested in open court Friday that the Los Angeles Lakers star may have been falsely accused of rape because he is black. The comment from attorney Pamela Mackey came during a legal squabble over the notes of a rape crisis center worker who sat in on a police interview with Bryant's 19-year-old accuser. The defense wants access to the notes, a request opposed by the crisis center. Inga Causey, attorney for the Resource Center of Eagle County, said releasing more details about Bryant's accuser would lead to fewer women reporting rapes. She said rape...