Big issue goes in favor of Bryant

Judge rules accuser's sex life can be used against her at trial.

By Jon Sarche ~ The Associated Press

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 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.

Prosecutors will decide how to proceed after reviewing the decision and no options have been ruled out, prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said.

"We have no plans of not moving forward with the prosecution," she said. "It's just, what is that going to look like?"

The woman's attorney, John Clune, declined to comment and defense attorneys didn't 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. Her attorney has vehemently denied that claim. 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 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 use evidence that includes Bryant's statements to investigators and a T-shirt stained with the woman's blood. Early said that to prove its theory, the defense would still have to explain why the woman would have had sex with Bryant after being injured by consensual sex beforehand.

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.