Court Closed for Parts of Next Bryant Hearing

After weeks of consideration, the judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case has decided to close the courtroom during arguments and testimony pertaining to the accuser’s medical privacy rights expected at a hearing Friday.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle, in a court filing Wednesday, rejected arguments by attorneys representing a media group that includes The Times, saying, “[The] media did not offer any evidence that the proceeding at issue is one that is historically open to the press and public.”

Bryant’s attorneys have asserted that the 19-year-old woman accusing the Laker star of rape gave up her privacy rights by discussing her medical history with others. The defense plans to call nine witnesses, including the woman’s mother.

At a hearing last month, Ruckriegle postponed a decision, saying there was little guiding legal precedent and that he would “have to make the law” in balancing the rights of Bryant, his accuser and the media.

Chris Beall, a Denver attorney who represents the media group, said an appeal could be made to the state Supreme Court.

Ruckriegle indicated that the embarrassing nature of the testimony and the fact that it would be widely disseminated by the media figured into his decision. He wrote that “the anticipated evidence includes intensely personal information, and the admissibility of such evidence remains subject to challenge.”

Bryant, 25, is charged with one count of felony sexual assault stemming from a June 30 encounter with the Eagle, Colo., woman at a mountain resort where he was a guest and she worked. He says they had consensual sex.

Bryant’s attorneys believe they should gain access to medical records pertaining to two suicide attempts by the woman because she discussed them with others, thereby waiving privilege.

The defense team expressed concern a few days ago that the issue would again be postponed and that the witnesses subpoenaed would be unnecessarily inconvenienced. Ruckriegle did not address those concerns in his filings Wednesday.

In addition to the accuser’s mother, expected to testify are the woman’s former boyfriend, several of her acquaintances and two employees of a dormitory where she lived while attending the University of Northern Colorado last year.

Other issues to be addressed at Friday’s hearing are expected to remain open.

The judge is expected to hear a report from prosecutors listing who from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department ordered T-shirts that depicted a hangman on the front and ridiculed Bryant as an adulterer on the back.

Ruckriegle also wants to know the status of testing of physical evidence by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. A hearing is expected regarding testing procedures and whether Bryant’s experts can conduct their own independent tests.