- News>
- Others
Bryant in first appearance before new judge in rape trail
Eagle, Nov 14: Kobe Bryant appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing to set scheduling dates for his upcoming trial.
Eagle, Nov 14: Kobe Bryant appeared in court on Thursday for a hearing to set scheduling dates for his upcoming trial.
Silent and showing no emotion, Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant appeared in a Colorado courtroom on Thursday (November 13) for 12 minutes while lawyers and the judge discussed scheduling for pretrial hearings in his upcoming rape trial, but no trial date was set.
It was Bryant's first appearance before the judge who would hear the case, Eagle County District Judge Terry Ruckriegle and his first in district court since a county judge bound him over for trial last month, even though that judge expressed doubts about the strength of the state's case.
Some legal experts thought that the judge in Thursday's hearing would read Bryant, 25, his rights, ask for a plea and possibly set a trial date. But Bryant's lawyers waived the reading of his rights and no trial date was set or plea asked for.
A hearing on pretrial motions was set for December 19. The basketball star has denied that he raped a 19-year-old woman who worked as a concierge at a Colorado resort near Vail, Colorado where Bryant was staying on June 30, saying that the sex was consensual.
The parents of the woman, two brothers and a cousin, sat in the front row in the courtroom, but declined to speak with reporters. The parents looked at Bryant only a few times and for the most part kept their eyes on the judge.
"The family stated that it was important to realise there really is a victim in this case," prosecutor's spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said when asked why the family came to court.
Bryant did not speak during the hearing and walked out, not acknowledging anyone. No fans were in evidence and the courtroom was not packed as it has been in previous court appearances.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. The judge and Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert had an exchange about how much of the scientific testing to be conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation should be witnessed by the defence.
The judge had ordered that Bryant's attorneys Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon receive notice so they can attend the testing. If the testing is expected to be "destructive," meaning the evidence would be wholly or largely consumed by the testing itself, then the defense is entitled to be present under Colorado law.
Hurlbert, however, said he hopes to contest the issue of whether the defence will be allowed to be present for the entire testing procedure because Colorado crime laboratory officials do not want someone in attendance for all the testing.
Bureau Report
The parents of the woman, two brothers and a cousin, sat in the front row in the courtroom, but declined to speak with reporters. The parents looked at Bryant only a few times and for the most part kept their eyes on the judge.
"The family stated that it was important to realise there really is a victim in this case," prosecutor's spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said when asked why the family came to court.
Bryant did not speak during the hearing and walked out, not acknowledging anyone. No fans were in evidence and the courtroom was not packed as it has been in previous court appearances.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. The judge and Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert had an exchange about how much of the scientific testing to be conducted by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation should be witnessed by the defence.
The judge had ordered that Bryant's attorneys Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon receive notice so they can attend the testing. If the testing is expected to be "destructive," meaning the evidence would be wholly or largely consumed by the testing itself, then the defense is entitled to be present under Colorado law.
Hurlbert, however, said he hopes to contest the issue of whether the defence will be allowed to be present for the entire testing procedure because Colorado crime laboratory officials do not want someone in attendance for all the testing.
Bureau Report