Prosecutors Want Open Hearing

Prosecutors sided with media organizations Tuesday in requesting that Kobe Bryant’s preliminary hearing in Colorado remain open, an indication that Dist. Atty. Mark Hurlbert believes Bryant’s accuser will not have to testify despite increased pressure from the Laker star’s attorneys.

In a separate but related 13-page filing, the defense asked Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett to uphold a subpoena requesting that the woman appear at the Oct. 9 proceeding, saying she is the only witness with “competent evidence” that a crime occurred.

Gannett, who also is considering several other motions, is not expected to rule on either issue for several days.

Bryant, 25, faces four years to life in prison on a felony sexual assault charge stemming from his stay June 30 at a hotel in Edwards, Colo., where his accuser worked. He admits they had sex but says it was consensual.

Hurlbert said the preliminary hearing should be open to the public and the media because the evidence he plans to introduce would not threaten Bryant’s right to a fair trial. He also contends that attempts by the defense to justify closing the hearing by pointing out that court files in the case have been sealed are “comparing apples to oranges.”

Prosecutors plan to show a videotape of the woman’s statement to investigators and call as a witness only the detective who took her statement. Bryant’s attorneys object, saying that would eliminate an opportunity for her to be cross-examined.

Bryant’s attorneys have argued that closing the preliminary hearing would eliminate the apprehension the woman feels about appearing, thus removing the reasons her attorneys have expressed for not wanting her to testify.

Two men have been arrested in incidents involving threats to Bryant’s accuser. A Swiss bodybuilding coach is charged with offering to kill her for $3 million, and an Iowa college student is awaiting federal trial in Denver for leaving a death threat on her answering machine.

Most legal scholars expect Gannett to quash the subpoena requiring the woman to testify, because at a preliminary hearing, prosecutors must only establish probable cause that a crime was committed. Bryant’s attorneys challenged that, writing, “While the prosecution’s motion to quash all but contends that the preliminary hearing is a meaningless exercise, that is not the law.”

Gannett has already denied a request to allow cameras in the courtroom, and reporters would be allowed to carry only paper and pens, should the proceeding remain open. There are 50 seats in the tiny Eagle County courtroom, with half reserved for the media.

Those safeguards are enough for Hurlbert, who wrote that a prospective Eagle County jury pool would not be contaminated by the evidence presented at the preliminary hearing.

He also expressed confidence that Bryant’s accuser would not have to testify, saying, “The defense argument [for closing the preliminary hearing] relies heavily upon the assumption that the victim will be forced to testify.... The matter is far from settled and ... the case law is solidly against the victim testifying.”