Judge to Rule on Two Matters

The outcome of two fierce pretrial battles should be determined during a two-day hearing in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case beginning today, although much of the proceeding will be closed to the public.

Meanwhile, the Colorado Legislature is considering two bills prompted by the Bryant case that would give greater protection to the identities of alleged rape victims. The bills would make it illegal for anyone to make public the name of an alleged victim after a judge has ruled it should be withheld.

The first matter to be taken up in Eagle County court today is completing a closed hearing on whether Bryant’s accuser waived her medical and mental health privilege by discussing her treatment with others.

The hearing began Jan. 23 and includes testimony from several friends and acquaintances of the 19-year-old woman, who says Bryant sexually assaulted her June 30 at a resort in Edwards, Colo. He says they had consensual sex.

After testimony on the medical records concludes, a hearing will begin to determine whether statements made by Bryant during a 75-minute July 2 interrogation conducted by two Eagle County sheriff’s investigators should be suppressed.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle ruled last week that Bryant’s statements would not be revealed to the public, but that other portions of the hearing would be open, including testimony from Bryant’s bodyguards and descriptions of his taxi ride from the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, Colo., to Valley View Hospital in Glenwood Springs, where he provided DNA samples.

Also, precautions will be taken to conceal the identities of three undercover officers who had Bryant under surveillance July 1. The officers are expected to testify in open court behind a screen.

The bills, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Cairns (R-Aurora) and Sen. Peter Groff (D-Denver), were introduced last week at the beginning of the legislative session.

In the Bryant case, defense attorney Pamela Mackey said the name of Bryant’s accuser six times in open court during the October preliminary hearing, and the woman’s name was published on the Internet and in a tabloid newspaper.

“America has a disease in its courts, and that disease is ‘VT’ -- victim trashing,” Cairns said.

However, several legal analysts said the bills infringe on the 1st Amendment rights to free speech and a free press.