Bryant Case Transcript Arguments Submitted

The Colorado attorney general’s office urged the state Supreme Court on Friday to enforce an order issued by the judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case barring the media from publishing mistakenly released transcripts from a closed hearing.

On behalf of 5th Judicial District Judge Terry Ruckriegle, Assistant Atty. Gen. Matthew D. Grove wrote the 14-page response to a request by seven news organizations that the Supreme Court find the order unconstitutional.

Grove said that allowing the media to publish details from the closed hearing -- most of which consisted of testimony from a DNA expert hired by the defense -- would jeopardize a fair trial.

“Once widely disseminated to an interested public, evidence adduced at the closed hearings would likely encourage speculation, taint the jury pool, and could undermine the public’s confidence in the integrity of the trial and of the justice system itself,” Grove wrote.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug. 27 in Eagle County Court. Bryant, 25, has pleaded not guilty to raping a young woman one year ago at a mountain resort. He has said they had consensual sex.

Bryant’s attorneys want evidence that the woman had sex with someone other than Bryant in the days surrounding the alleged rape admitted at trial as an exception to Colorado law designed to protect the privacy of purported victims. The closed hearing in question took place June 20.

Ruckriegle’s ruling on what, if any, evidence is an exception to the statute could come at any time over the next several weeks.

In a motion filed with the Supreme Court earlier this week, the news organizations said Ruckriegle’s threat to cite anyone who publishes the material with contempt of court is an example of “prior restraint” and a violation of constitutional guarantees of free speech and press.

Grove, however, argued that a long-standing gag order in the case made it clear that information from closed proceedings is off limits. Furthermore, he said, the transcripts were not obtained lawfully.

Assistant Atty. Gen. Matt Holman also wrote a brief on behalf of the prosecution in support of Ruckriegle’s position. The defense did not file a brief.

The transcripts were inadvertently e-mailed June 24 to the Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Denver Post, ESPN, CBS, Fox News, and the television show “Celebrity Justice.”

The media organizations have until Wednesday to respond. No one has published information from the transcripts and the Supreme Court said the judge’s order remains in effect until the issue is resolved.

An affidavit from Michelle Goodbee, the court reporter who sent the transcripts to the media, accompanied Grove’s motion and explained the error.