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Accuser must use her real name in lawsuit, judge rules A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the woman who accused Kobe Bryant of rape must use her real name in the lawsuit she filed against him. U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch ordered her lawsuit, now titled "Jane Doe vs. Kobe Bryant," to be retitled on Oct. 20. He did not explain the delay in retitling. Bryant had filed a motion opposing the woman's effort to remain anonymous, as had the Rocky Mountain News. "Public confidence in the results of court proceedings require that they be open to observation," Matsch said...

Geneva Says, ‘I Quit’ Poynter Online is a website for news people that says it’s “everything you need to be a better journalist.” Well, our old friend Geneva Overholser, who always wants to be a better journalist, has a big-time issue with Poynter Online. In the event you’ve forgotten who Overholser is, let me refresh your memory. She made some news herself when she was editor at the local paper a few years ago. While Overholser was editor, the managing editor was Dave Westphal, Westphal had been one of the sports editors with whom I worked in my earlier writing...

EAGLE, Colo. - Attorneys in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case began questioning jury candidates behind closed doors Monday after the judge rejected a request to let the media listen in. The NBA star's right to a fair trial and the jury candidates' right to privacy outweigh "qualified" First Amendment rights of access, District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said after hearing from media attorneys. The private questioning would be "very limited," the judge said. Areas to be covered in private include the potential jurors' personal experience with sexual assault, any potential racial prejudice they harbor, whether pretrial publicity has prompted them to...

Not naming Kobe Bryant's accuser is becoming almost pointless. As Bryant's trial is scheduled to begin this week in Eagle County, Colo., every major newspaper, newsmagazine, network and cable outlet still is keeping it taboo to release the name of the woman who reported the basketball star raped her. Even when bumblers in the courthouse inadvertently keep disseminating it to reporters covering the pending case and even when she filed a civil suit seeking monetary damages from Bryant under the name "Jane Doe." What the media have proceeded to do instead is to produce a paint-by- numbers portrait: her age,...

Edited transcript of June 22 Bryant case hearing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Print Friendly Email This Story -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 2, 2004 The following is the redacted transcript released Monday from the closed June 22 hearing in the Kobe Bryant case. It contains testimony from a defense DNA expert. The transcript does not contain rebuttal evidence from prosecutors. District Court | County of Eagle | State of Colorado | 885 Chambers Avenue | P.O. Box 597 | Eagle, Colorado 81631 | | Telephone Number:(970)328-6373 | | ** COURT USE ONLY ** ___________________________________|________________________ | Plaintiff: THE PEOPLE OF THE | Case No. 2003 CR 204...

DENVER - In a huge victory for Kobe Bryant's defense, the judge in the NBA star's sexual assault case ruled Friday that his accuser's sex life during the week of their encounter can be used against her at trial. District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said details of the woman's sexual activities in the three days before her July 1, 2003, hospital examination are relevant to help determine the cause of her injuries and the source of DNA evidence. He also said the credibility of the accuser was a factor. One legal expert called the decision a stunning defeat for prosecutors that...

Wrong click sent closed-door hearing transcript to media By Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News June 26, 2004 Media lawyers are planning to appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court a judge's order that reporters must destroy copies of a transcript in the Kobe Bryant case that should have remained under seal but was distributed by mistake. Court reporter Michelle Goodbee had intended on Thursday to send a 206-page transcript of a closed-door hearing held Monday and Tuesday to Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle, who presided over that session. Instead, according to court spokeswoman Karen Salaz, Goodbee clicked on the wrong mailing...

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...

Colorado Supreme Court Denies Kobe Bryant Accuser Protection From CO Rape Shield LawThe Colorado Supreme Court today denied a petition (citing Colorado's rape shield law) for relief of the accuser to testify in hearings scheduled March 24 and 25 in Eagle, Colorado in the Kobe Bryant rape case. The courts ruling (en Banc) denied a prosecution request to limit questioning the women about her sexual history to a 72-hour timeframe in days surrounding the accused rape. The ruling will allow the Bryant defense team to ask questions about the accusers lifetime of sexual activity. The Petititon: http://www.courts.state.co.us/exec/media/eagle/03-04/sc_car21_relief.pdf The Denial of...

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...

"Celebrity Justice" has learned that prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant case have contacted a Portland, OR hotel worker. Sources tell "CJ" that this woman says she had a sexual encounter with Kobe Bryant at a hotel where she worked. "CJ" has learned the woman works for room service at the hotel. Sources tell "CJ" the woman disclosed to co-workers that the meeting between her and the NBA superstar was "hot and heavy." Sources close to the woman tell "Celebrity Justice" she and Bryant actually met a few years ago at the hotel and he continued to request her for room...

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:...

A new bombshell revelation in the Kobe Bryant case threatens to destroy the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness - whose testimony could send the basketball superstar to jail for years. Sources told GLOBE that the 19-year-old woman who has accused Bryant of rape told them she had sex with the prosecution’s star witness Bobby Pietrack - a week before she met Bryant. Pietrack, a 23-year-old bellhop at the resort where the alleged rape took place, is the first person Katelyn Faber told about her encounter with Bryant. He can testify about her emotional state and physical appearance at the...

A new bombshell revelation in the Kobe Bryant case threatens to destroy the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness - whose testimony could send the basketball superstar to jail for years. Sources told GLOBE that the 19-year-old woman who has accused Bryant of rape told them she had sex with the prosecution’s star witness Bobby Pietrack - a week before she met Bryant. Pietrack, a 23-year-old bellhop at the resort where the alleged rape took place, is the first person Katelyn Faber told about her encounter with Bryant. He can testify about her emotional state and physical appearance at the...