Hearing on Records Will Go Into March

The closed hearing on whether Kobe Bryant can gain access to medical and psychological records of the woman accusing him of rape will not conclude until March 1, a spokeswoman for the Eagle County district attorney’s office said Thursday.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle was expected to issue a written decision in the next few days, but one witness was unavailable at the hearing on Monday and the judge determined that he cannot make a ruling until that witness testifies.

A number of witnesses testified at the hearing -- including the mother of Bryant’s accuser for more than two hours -- and Bryant’s attorneys tried to establish that the 19-year-old woman waived privacy privileges by discussing her records with others.

The delay is an indication that the entire March 1 hearing will be consumed by unfinished business. A hearing Tuesday pertaining to the admissibility of statements Bryant made to investigators and physical evidence collected from him 26 hours after the June 30 alleged rape also was continued.

Pretrial hearings are scheduled for March 2, March 23 and March 24.