Judge Defers Ruling on Notes

A judge deferred to Colorado district court a ruling on whether Kobe Bryant’s attorneys can read notes taken by a rape crisis center worker during a meeting with the woman who has accused the Laker star of sexual assault.

Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett said an evidentiary hearing must be held in district court, which will assume control of the case after Thursday’s preliminary hearing. Gannett did release to the defense training materials from the Eagle County Resource Center, which counsels victims of sexual assault.

Attorneys for the woman and for the rape crisis center had asked Gannett to reject the defense subpoena.

Bryant’s attorneys issued a subpoena Sept. 5 to the rape crisis center, asserting that the woman, 19, had relinquished her privacy rights by speaking to others about the June 30 encounter with Bryant at an Edwards, Colo., hotel where she worked and he was a guest.

Gannett ruled last week that a district judge should determine whether the woman has waived her privacy rights.

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Media groups, anticipating that an arraignment for Bryant could occur Thursday should he waive his right to a preliminary hearing, asked Gannett for permission to place television and still cameras in the courtroom.

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The El Segundo man accused of approaching Bryant’s security team with an offer to kill his accuser for $3 million on Monday pleaded not guilty to a murder solicitation charge in Los Angeles Superior Court. Patrick Graber, 31, was arrested in a Sept. 18 police sting.