Bryant Lawyers Denied Records

In his first major pretrial ruling, the judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case Wednesday denied the defense access to medical records pertaining to two alleged suicide attempts by the Laker star’s accuser.

After three days of hearings that began in January and a parade of witnesses, Colorado District Judge Terry Ruckriegle ruled that the 19-year-old woman had not waived physician-patient privilege by discussing her treatment with others.

“The court finds that the victim did not give consent to disclosure of this privileged information, nor did she explicitly or implicitly waive the confidentiality of the communications contained in those records,” Ruckriegle wrote in the 10-page order.

Bryant, 25, is charged with raping the woman June 30 at a Colorado mountain resort. He has said they had consensual sex. He faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation if convicted.

Legal experts said the ruling was not a surprise and that upcoming decisions involving exceptions to the rape-shield law and the admissibility of statements Bryant made to investigators will be far more important to the case. Colorado law and recent federal legislation limit the conditions under which medical care providers can release information about a patient’s treatment.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled two years ago that judges cannot examine medical records without consent.

“This was a longshot by the defense and it was not of great evidentiary value,” said Larry Pozner, a Denver attorney who has followed the case closely. “What Ruckriegle denied was a set of records that would have been useful in showing her diagnosis. That’s all the defense lost.”

Bryant attorneys Hal Haddon and Pamela Mackey have asserted in court filings that the woman overdosed on pills in February and May of 2003. They say the incidents undermine her credibility because they demonstrate she had engaged in a pattern of “attention-seeking behavior” and had a “scheme” to falsely accuse Bryant.

Ruckriegle, however, said that although the woman had discussed her treatment with her mother, her friends and in an interview with a detective, she did so without intending to waive privilege.

The judge threw out defense subpoenas issued to the Eagle Valley Medical Center, the University of Northern Colorado Student Health Services and the Northern Colorado Medical Center.

According to police officials and court filings, the woman attempted suicide in February 2003 in a dormitory while attending Northern Colorado, in Greeley, and again three months later at her parents’ home in Eagle, Colo. She ingested pills both times and received medical treatment.

The defense can still attempt to introduce testimony about the two incidents at trial. Despite being denied access to the medical records, Bryant’s lawyers could call witnesses who have direct knowledge of the purported suicide attempts. Ruckriegle wrote that several witnesses observed the overdoses.

“That is another motion for another day,” Pozner said.

Ruckriegle heard testimony in closed court Jan. 23, Feb. 2 and March 2 concerning the waiver of privilege. The witnesses included the woman’s mother, her former boyfriend, two college roommates, a resident assistant from the dorm, a mother and daughter who were friends of the woman in Eagle, and another male friend.

“Look at what the defense accomplished,” said Craig Silverman, a former Denver prosecutor. “They were able to question under oath all of these people who otherwise would not have spoken to them. It was a legally authorized fishing expedition.”

Det. Doug Winters of the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department also testified. Ruckriegle recounted some of that testimony, saying that Winters had the woman sign a physician-patient waiver July 9 pertaining only to her rape examination. Winters addressed the suicide attempts with her, but the woman did not reveal many details to him.

“It was clear that the victim and her mother were extremely reluctant to discuss the prior medical treatment with Winters,” Ruckriegle wrote. “The victim did so only after being told that such a discussion was necessary to move the case forward and that her statements ... would be held in confidence.”

The ruling also indicated that during the hearings Bryant’s attorneys questioned witnesses about the woman’s mental health. Ruckriegle determined that her conversations with others about her mental health and medical treatment “took place in casual contexts” and with “an implicit confidentiality.”

“This is definitely an important victory for people who get medical treatment that don’t want to lose the privilege just because they’ve decided to talk to other people or confide in family and friends for support,” said Karen Steinhauser, a law professor at the University of Denver.

Bryant’s attorneys asserted in a December court filing that the woman was taking Seroquel, a medication used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

The basis for that assertion has not been established, but the Valley View Hospital inadvertently sent the woman’s medical records pertaining to the May suicide attempt to prosecutors, who mistakenly forwarded the records to Haddon and Mackey.

Ruckriegle earlier ordered that those records be destroyed, and in the ruling Wednesday said “the prosecution and defense have purportedly complied with this order.”

Bryant, who is free on $25,000 bond, must return to Eagle County Court for three days of hearings beginning Monday. Hearings on the rape-shield law and the suppression of Bryant’s statements are expected to conclude next week.

On Wednesday, the defense is scheduled to inform Ruckriegle of the status of DNA testing on underwear the woman wore to her rape examination.

The judge also will hear arguments from both sides on whether Bryant should enter a plea soon.