Funds Request in Bryant Case Signals Strategy

Prosecutors plan to retain a strangulation expert in the sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant, an indication to legal analysts that evidence against the Laker star points to the use of force.

During a budget meeting in Frisco, Colo., on Thursday, Dist. Atty. Mark Hurlbert detailed the list of experts he plans to assemble, according to Lake County Commissioner Ken Olsen. Hurlbert requested $188,500 to prosecute Bryant in 2004 from the four counties that make up the 5th Judicial District -- Eagle, Lake, Clear Creek and Summit.

Hurlbert told officials that the money he was asking for “is bargain basement” and suggested that his unfamiliarity with high-profile cases and the uncertainty of the trial could require an adjustment in the budget.

Hurlbert’s proposal called for $143,000 for staffing and $45,500 for expert witnesses. The four-county budget is not scheduled for approval until December, Eagle County Commissioner Tom Stone said.

Besides paying $2,500 for a strangulation expert, Hurlbert plans to retain a trauma expert, a rape-trauma expert and a sexual-assault nurse-examiner. The most expensive expert would be a jury consultant, expected to cost $20,000.

Hurlbert did not specify who the strangulation expert would be, although legal analysts suggest it would be a physician or a forensic pathologist. A spokeswoman for Hurlbert said he had no comment.

Bryant, 25, is accused of raping a 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 at a hotel where she worked and he was a guest. She notified authorities the next day. He says the sex was consensual.

Hiring a strangulation expert “goes to speculation that [Bryant] was grabbing her or that there was out-of-the-ordinary kind of sex that angered her,” said Lisa Wayne, a Denver attorney who specializes in sexual assault defense. “It definitely goes to force, and a doctor could testify to that. A doctor could say her injuries are consistent with strangulation, but I doubt a doctor would say there is 100% certainty.”

A preliminary hearing is scheduled Thursday in Eagle County, and Judge Frederick Gannett said Bryant must attend even if his attorneys waive the proceeding, because a bail hearing would be held instead.

Gannett ruled Thursday that Bryant’s accuser does not have to testify at the preliminary hearing and that it will be open to the public and media -- victories for the prosecution that some experts say will prompt the defense to waive the proceeding.

However, a decision by Hurlbert to scale back the evidence he planned to introduce makes going ahead with the hearing potentially less damaging to Bryant.

Hurlbert would not comment on his strategy, but experts said they thought he decided not to show a videotape of the woman’s statements and an audiotape of Bryant’s statements because he feared introducing them would prompt an appeal by the defense and delay the preliminary hearing.

The only testimony during the hearing is expected to come from Eagle County Sheriff’s Det. Doug Winters, the investigator who took the statements.

The defense “can see how Det. Winters handles himself on the witness stand and make a few points on cross examination,” said Craig Silverman, a former Denver deputy district attorney.

Photographs of injuries to the woman -- which sources have said include marks on her neck -- are also expected to be introduced. Experts said Gannett probably would close the portion of the hearing where the photos are shown.

Bryant’s attorneys, Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon, can appeal any of Gannett’s rulings to the Colorado Supreme Court, but four of the seven justices must agree to hear the appeal. Experts who know Mackey and Haddon doubt they would file an appeal to delay the proceedings.

“They wouldn’t appeal unless they believe they can win,” said Wayne, who has worked with Mackey in the public defender’s office. “They have a reputation as being excellent lawyers. My sense is that the case is going forward.”

If so, Hurlbert probably will need every penny he requested. The district attorney’s budget this year is $1.8 million; his request represents an 11% increase of that.

Stone said the cost of the case will not affect the overall budget, making a joking reference to the $4-million ring Bryant bought for his wife.

“We have enough money to buy four rings and not cause a blip in the budget,” he said.

Eagle County, which includes resort communities such as Vail and Beaver Creek, is the wealthiest of the four counties, with an annual budget of $90 million. Eagle County already has contributed $105,000 to prosecuting Bryant.

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The interview with a friend of Bryant’s accuser that will air tonight on CBS’ “48 Hours Investigates” is troubling to legal analysts, because Johnray Strickland said the woman asked him to go public.

“I’m appalled by it,” said Jeralyn Merritt, a Colorado defense attorney. “It smacks of unfairness. We have no way of knowing that what she said to him is truthful.”

The judge presiding over the case issued a gag order July 24, but it appears to apply only to attorneys and law enforcement officials -- not to Bryant’s accuser or other witnesses.

“She made a serious charge and should let it work through the courts,” Merritt said. “If it doesn’t violate the letter of the gag order, it violates the spirit.”