EAGLE, Colo. — Three months after Kobe Bryant was accused of rape, the public is expected to hear evidence prosecutors say proves he attacked a 19-year-old woman in his hotel room.

Prosecutors have said they will show photographs of injuries that back up the woman's claim she was raped by the Los Angeles Lakers star on June 30 at a nearby resort.

Legal experts say Thursday's preliminary hearing might not happen: Since Bryant's attorneys lost a bid to force his accuser to testify, the defense will probably waive the hearing and keep potentially damaging evidence under wraps until trial.

"If they have the hearing the public is going to hear basically all the details of what happened that night and it's going to be told from the prosecution's perspective," said Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and law professor at the University of Denver .

"There's a lot of unfavorable evidence going to be brought out in public."

Denver defense attorney Dan Recht also expects Bryant's legal team to waive the hearing and acknowledge there is enough evidence for a judge to order a trial.

"There's no way the defense will win a preliminary hearing. No way. None," Recht said.

Documents containing details of the investigation have been sealed since Bryant's arrest July 4, and everyone involved in the case has been silenced by a gag order.

Even if the hearing is waived, Bryant must appear Thursday in front of Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett for a bail hearing. Bryant, free on $25,000 bail, would also at some point have to appear in another court to enter a plea to the sexual assault charge.

Bryant was in Hawaii this week, where the Los Angeles Lakers are training and playing their first exhibition games. Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Tuesday night that Bryant will fly to Colorado on Wednesday.

The basketball star's attorneys met with prosecutors and Gannett for more than an hour Tuesday, discussing what a court spokeswoman called logistical issues.

Attorneys were to meet with the judge once more Thursday, just 45 minutes before the hearing, to resolve other issues. At that point, defense attorneys could move to waive the hearing and take their chances at trial.

Besides the photos, prosecutors plan to bring a sheriff's detective to the stand at the preliminary hearing to discuss the investigation and the conclusions reached by a nurse who examined Bryant's accuser.



"The vast majority of the time defense attorneys waive the hearing," Steinhauser said. "They don't stand to gain a whole lot by having it."

Bryant's attorneys haven't had much success in front of Gannett so far. They have already lost efforts to get the alleged victim's medical and psychological records, and Gannett ruled Monday they cannot have access to notes taken by a rape crisis center worker during an interview with the accuser.

Eagle County authorities moved ahead with preparations for Bryant's second court visit, which appears likely to generate the same circus-like atmosphere as his first appearance Aug. 6.

Bryant uttered just two words during that seven-minute hearing, which brought out dozens of his supporters and created a media frenzy the likes of which this quiet mountain town had never seen.

The same media throngs are back in town, only this time Eagle is more ready for them. The county paved a new parking lot next to the small Eagle County Justice Center for media and overflow parking, and had stacks of guides printed to direct visiting journalists and others to local restaurants and other businesses.

Security also has been beefed up after dozens of threats made against the prosecutor, the judge and Bryant's accuser. Armed guards will be at the courthouse, one entrance will be locked, and a metal detector will be set up at the other door for only the third time in years.

The judge issued an order Tuesday on how he expects the media to behave. There will be no cameras in the courtroom, although an artist will be allowed to sketch the proceedings.

In the amended order, the judge deleted a section threatening to punish anyone who disclosed the victim's name or showed her picture. That threat had been called unconstitutional by media attorneys.


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I know some of you won't want to read all of this but basically tomorrow is a big day for Kobe.

Kobe Bryant is a damn fool. He could've avoided all this mess. I saw him on the cover of Newsweek magazine for this month looking pitiful LOL. If he loves his wife so much like he say he does, he should've never did what he did. His wife should leave him cause there's a good chance he could go to jail. If he's jail for a long period of time, she's gonna be lonely so there's no point in staying with him. I betcha he's gonna avoid jail time. I'm tired of celebrities getting away with murder cause they got money. If Kobe would've been a regular Joe blow, he would've gone to jail.

I agree...

here is what happened today.

======================
http://images.ibsys.com/2003/0721/2346996_120X90.jpg

Prosecutors presented evidence, including photographs, that they say proves Bryant sexually assaulted a 19-year-old employee at a Colorado mountain resort June 30. Legal experts predicted the defense would waive the hearing and head straight to trial rather than allow prosecutors to lay out their case -- and potentially damaging details -- publicly for the first time.

According to testimony from Eagle County sheriff's Detective Doug Winters, the accuser described to investigators a consensual sexual encounter that suddenly spiraled out of her control.

According to Winters' testimony, the woman said the encounter began with consensual caressing before Bryant attacked her from behind, grabbed her by the neck and raped her -- despite repeated protests.

Winters told the court that the woman told him that Bryant asked her to show him a tattoo on her back. She said that's when Bryant grabbed her by the neck and raped her.

According to Winters' testimony, the woman told investigators she told Bryant "no" at least twice before bursting into tears as the attack went on. She told investigators she'd agreed not to tell anyone because she feared for her safety.

Bryant admits he committed adultery on June 30 but says the sex was consensual.
http://images.ibsys.com/2003/1009/2543710_200X150.jpg
Bryant and his attorney (pictured, above) entered the courtroom shortly after 1:30 p.m. EDT for a status conference before the hearing began. The 3 p.m. EDT hearing began almost 30 minutes late.

Just like in Bryant's previous court appearance, a media horde has descended on the small town of Eagle, tucked in the Rockies, about 120 miles west of Denver. Police set up barricades to keep both reporters and fans at bay.

Big white media tents and hundreds of reporters and photographers are packed outside the courthouse in Eagle County.

On the courthouse grounds, there are big maps showing exactly which areas are strictly off-limits to reporters, including the walkway in front of the judge's office windows.

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I am shocked :eek: if this is true... He could go to prision!

Here is Vanessa's statement.


================================
Vanessa Bryant Statement

POSTED: 5:34 p.m. EDT July 18, 2003

The following statement was released Friday at the request of Vanessa Bryant, through her husband Kobe's attorneys, Harold A. Haddon and Pamela Robillard Mackey, and his agent Rob Pelinka:

"I know that my husband has made a mistake -- the mistake of adultery. He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal.

"I know that he did not commit a crime, he did not assault anyone. He is a loving and kind husband and father. I believe in his innocence.

"Because I know him to be innocent, I will stand by him and we will face this together. I will give him all the strength and support he needs to face these false accusations. I will not let him face these accusations alone.

"I know Kobe better than anyone. The great person you see on the court and in the public is a far greater person off the court."

=========================

that part in red kind of sounds like she will stick by him until a decision is made. Then she will decide to stay of leave him...

What do you think?


:confused:

LOL@that first picture of him looking pitiful hahahahahahahaha. I think Vanessa is gonna leave him if he's found guilty. She might leave him if he's innocent. We'll have to wait & see. If she was smart, she'd leave him cause there is no excuse for what he did. She needs to overlook the things he bought her to make up to her. I think she needs to forget about those gifts he bought her because gifts can't erase what he did.

yeah she has to choose between Money, or pride... Love is stronger than pride. But is it really love. Kobe didn't love her obviously. And after this shocking moment that she is going through, I bet she will realize that.

Vanessa will probably stay with him during the trial, but I wouldn't be surprised if she leaves him afterward.

yeah I know I would. Id want a man I could trust. But I would still let him see his kid.

EAGLE, Colo. — In what analysts say is an abrupt shift in strategy, prosecutors in the Kobe Bryant (search) case asked the judge to close at least a portion of the preliminary hearing when it resumes next week.

Prosecutors made the request in private after defense attorneys, during the hearing on Thursday, questioned the sexual history of the woman who accused the NBA star of rape.

Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said Friday the request involved a portion of the hearing. She declined to provide additional details.

Tom Kelley, a Denver attorney who represents several media organizations including The Associated Press, said he was told prosecutors sought to close the balance of the hearing.

Earlier, prosecutors had supported a public hearing, and Kelley called the move a "flip-flop."

"They got in all the stuff that is harmful to Kobe. When the witness started taking a beating on cross-examination, they move to close," Kelley said.

Larry Pozner, former president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar (search), said it appeared to be a defensive action. "I think yesterday's move was a snap move where they said this is getting even worse than we envisioned," he said.

The preliminary hearing, which began Thursday, was expected to be an easy victory for prosecutors. But it ran more than six hours and ended with a suggestion from defense attorney Pamela Mackey that the woman's injuries might be "consistent with a person who has had sex with three different men in three days."

Bryant, a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers showed no emotion as the woman's story emerged: a flirtatious encounter that got out of control.

Eagle County sheriff's Detective Doug Winters related the woman's account with graphic details of Bryant grabbing her by the neck and attacking her.

Pozner said prosecutors made a tactical error by introducing photographs of the woman's injuries and allowing Winters to describe the nurse's conclusions. That gave the defense an opening to bring up the woman's sexual history.

Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett took the prosecution request to close the hearing under advisement and allowed defense attorneys to question Winters behind closed doors about statements Bryant made to police before he was arrested.

The prosecution was hurt by the defense's actions Thursday, said Robert Pugsley, a professor at Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

"It's not going to be a piece of cake to get a conviction against Kobe Bryant," Pugsley said.

Bryant, 25, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the single count of felony sexual assault against him. He has said he and the 19-year-old Eagle woman had consensual sex while he stayed at the mountain resort where she worked.

Bryant is free on $25,000 bond and must return to Eagle on Wednesday when the hearing resumes.