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Judge allows sex evidence in Bryant case 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.
One legal expert called the decision a stunning defeat for prosecutors that could derail their entire case.
"This evidence is as damaging a set of facts as a prosecutor could ever have to contend with and one wonders if at long last the accuser will pull the plug on this case," said Larry Pozner, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan called it a "very significant ruling" and said prosecutors would decide how to proceed after reviewing the decision. The woman's attorney, John Clune, declined comment and defense attorneys did not return a call.
The defense's bid to question the accuser's credibility by bringing up her sex life was considered one of the most important pieces of Bryant's upcoming trial.
The defense has suggested the woman had multiple sexual partners in the days surrounding her June 2003 encounter with Bryant, including sex with someone after the alleged attack and before she contacted the authorities. The defense contends injuries found on her during an exam at a hospital could have been caused by someone other than Bryant.
The judge ruled that Colorado's strict rape-shield law, which generally prevents the sex life of an alleged assault victim from being admitted as evidence, does not apply to all the information Bryant's lawyers want to introduce.
He said he was convinced by the defense that "specific instances of sexual activity" and evidence of sex can be offered to bolster their contention that her injuries were not caused by Bryant.
Ruckriegle agreed that the woman's sex life in the 72 hours before the exam was relevant, but barred "any and all other evidence" related to her conduct.
Bryant, 25, faces an Aug. 27 trial on a single charge of felony sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty, saying he had consensual sex last summer with the woman, then a 19-year-old front desk worker at a Vail-area resort.
If convicted, the Los Angeles Lakers star faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.
Cynthia Stone, executive director of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said the ruling was discouraging but said the final decision will be up to jurors.
"This stuff is going to be put in front of the jury along with all the other evidence — it's just a small piece of that," she said. "The ultimate question the jury has to answer is whether Kobe Bryant forced this woman to have sex against her will."
Prosecutors could ask the state Supreme Court to review the decision, said Norm Early, a former Denver district attorney familiar with the case. But he said such a request could suggest the prosecution believes the ruling harms their case.
The prosecution can still rely on evidence that includes Bryant's statements to investigators and a T-shirt stained with the woman's blood. Early also said the defense would still have to explain why the woman might have had sex before going to the authorities.
In a separate development, attorneys for the judge said they had asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer to uphold his order barring media organizations from releasing details from a closed-door hearing that were mistakenly e-mailed by a court reporter.
The judge's order, which was upheld this week by the Colorado Supreme Court, threatens The Associated Press and six other news organizations with contempt of court if they publish material from last month's hearing on the woman's sex life and other issues. The media groups contend the order is an unconstitutional prior restraint of a free press. But the Colorado attorney general's office, representing Ruckriegle, said publication could torpedo the trial. |
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