shaq=ignorance

A New Witness
Prosecutors plan to subpoena a woman who could alter the course of the Kobe Bryant case

By Jeff Benedict
The past five weeks could not have gone much worse for the team prosecuting the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case. A court clerk mistakenly released to the media transcripts of a closed hearing involving the accuser's sexual history, and the court later posted on its website a sealed document that revealed the accuser's last name, prompting an apology from trial judge Terry Ruckriegle. Lead prosecutor Mark Hurlbert withdrew from the case. Ruckriegle ruled that certain information about the accuser's sexual history was admissible and also released a transcript revealing that Bryant's accuser received more than $17,000 from a victim-compensation fund -- which the defense spun to suggest that she had a financial motive to lie. Now, however, an aggressive move by prosecutors may shift the momentum, and even drag Shaquille O'Neal into court as a witness.
SI has learned that prosecutors plan to subpoena a 22-year-old Florida waitress who claims she was the object of unwanted sexual advances by Bryant. Prosecutors have notified Bryant's lawyers that the woman may be called as a witness at the trial, set to begin on Aug. 27 in Eagle, Colo. Her testimony might be used by the prosecution to show that aggressive sexual actions are part of Bryant's pattern of behavior. (Pamela Mackey, Bryant's lead attorney, did not respond to SI's efforts to reach her.)
According to the Florida woman and others familiar with her allegation, she was among the employees of Orlando's Planet Hollywood restaurant who worked at a private party at O'Neal's home on Thanksgiving 2002. The Lakers were in Orlando to play the Magic, and O'Neal, who owns a 26,000-square-foot house in the city's Isleworth neighborhood, hosted a team dinner.
The woman alleges that Bryant approached her and asked for her cellphone number, which she provided. Later, Bryant asked her to get him a soft drink and bring it to him outside, which she did in the presence of another man. Bryant then cornered her and groped her private parts. She says Bryant laughed as she pushed him away, and that she retreated inside O'Neal's home and called her mother. The next day, the woman says, she received a call from a man who said he was an associate of Bryant's, apologizing for Bryant's behavior.
The woman did not initially report any of this to the police. But after Bryant was charged on July 18, 2003, she saw the news conference at which he said of his accuser, "I didn't force her to do anything against her will. I am innocent." This prompted the Florida woman to call Colorado prosecutors and report her alleged encounter with Bryant. After hearing her story, according to sources in the Los Angeles D.A.'s office, investigators from L.A. teamed with Eagle prosecutors and contacted O'Neal through his agent, Perry Rogers, and told him that O'Neal could become a witness in Bryant's case. Within hours the investigators heard from David Chesnoff, a criminal defense lawyer who said he represented O'Neal. Though the investigators assured him that his client was not a suspect, Chesnoff said O'Neal would not speak with them. O'Neal could, however, be called to testify in Colorado. (Chesnoff and Rogers told SI that they could not discuss anything related to their client.)
A subpoena was required for the Florida woman because she had decided that she did not want to be a witness in a case in which the accuser has been subjected to threats and smears. Her participation is significant, though, because it could cause Bryant's lawyers to think twice before calling their client to the stand. Under Colorado rules of evidence, the Florida woman can be called as a rebuttal witness by the prosecution, now led by Ingrid Bakke and Dana Easter -- the career sex-crime prosecutors who took over for Hurlbert. John Wolfe, a Seattle lawyer who has represented a dozen pro athletes in sexual assault cases, says it leaves Bryant and his lawyers with a "Hobson's choice: If he doesn't testify, he loses the ability to tell the jury that it was consensual sex. If he does testify, he opens the door for another accuser to allege nonconsensual sexual activity."
If the Florida woman does testify, it will be up to the jurors to decide if they see meaningful similarities between Bryant's alleged behavior in Florida and Colorado. According to documents viewed by SI, the accuser in Colorado told police that the first nonconsensual act by Bryant was the groping of her private parts. When she resisted and tried to flee, according to her statement, Bryant allegedly restrained her and blocked the door to his room.
Speaking about Bryant's case last week on Z100 radio in Portland, O'Neal said his former teammate would need a jury of rappers -- "Ludacris, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg" -- to get off. Few observers see the case as that one-sided, but Bakke and Easter may have succeeded in putting new obstacles in Bryant's path to freedom.
Issue date: August 9, 2004

goddfather40

This is old news. You have to question the credibility of someone who does not report this to the police initially, let alone waits nearly a year.

At any rate, we don't know what will happen until the trial unfolds, this is just more speculation and posturing.

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djtestudo

So allegations are being presented as evidence to support allegations?

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pan6467

Maybe the lady in Fla. thought noone would believe her, didn't want to face the press, whatever.

She sees the news about Kobe in Colo. and decides to say something, because now she feels safer because others have been through it, it happens. This could also lead to other women now coming out into the open.

This could set up the fact that he is sexually aggressive and hurts women.

I think the trial has been handled very poorly by the prosecutors and the judge.

I truly hope if Kobe is guilty he goes to prison for a very long time. If he's innocent, then I hope he learns a lesson and makes sure when he diddles with a woman that she can't yell rape. Hell, do what Chuck Berry used to do, have the woman sign a consent form before sex takes place.

Liked that last paragraph describing what Shaq said. I think now that he's away from LA he might be more open to testifying.

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Anomaly_

Actually, it is very common for sexual assault victims to not report the crime immediately, or ever, for many reasons. This woman could definitely be fraudulent but to base it on the time elapsed is not a good indication of whether or not the crime happened.

Halx

Sounds like religion to me!

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sixate

I almost fell out of my seat when I read that.

BigGov

She doesn't have much ground to stand on, and without any proof the defense will just eat her alive.

This trial has been pathetic, with both sides leaking information left and right. Barring some insanely incriminating evidence that hasn't been leaked yet, Kobe will walk.

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cameroncrazy822

Sounds like there is a chance she may drop the charges now...

j8ear

Kobe ~should~ fucking walk. This circus of a trial all to prop up the shitty career of a pathetic prosecutor.

And this crap about a 'fair trial' for the alledged victim. Fuck the victim. She has rights to nothing. It's Kobe who is on trial and needs a fair trial. IT IS ONLY HIS RIGHTS WHICH need protection. ONLY.

The justice system is turning to shit. Thank GOD for rich defendants who can afford high priced counsel so they can stand up to those lying 'convict at all costs' and 'bury exculpatory evidence' prosecutors.

If you are in law enforcement or invovled in any way in the justice system you are lying perjuring sack of shit in my book. To those oh so few exceptions I apologize. To the rest of you...eat the peanuts out of my shit!

-bear

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canuckguy

i see both sides of the fence with this case. i can see kobe raping her if she refuses to have sex with him cuz he is a huge star and is always use to getting what he wants. or that she is a money grubbing cum whore. either one.

sid2004

looks like she's now goin for a civil suit($$$$$$).....not sure if she will drop out of criminal case though...Kobe ought to play smart and just settle with her for a few mil. and get out of the criminal part so he can go back to his merry old life...

.can't agree with u on this one...even if it was consentual, Kobe put hisself in this situation and deserves every bit of scrutiny. Her rights need to be protected as far as privacy goes, something like this could ruin a person's life on both sides not just poor Kobe.

repeater

I don't see why we should be so quick to jump on support of one side or the other. It seems like lots of people have the "What a money grabbing slut" attitude before anything was known about the case. I'm personally more inclined to believe her, but I'm far from certain about it. I agree with the others, this case has been handled horribly and it's a shame that shit like this goes on.

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Jesus Malverde

I'm waiting for the trial before I make my decision or jump to any conclusions, but could there possibly have been a shittier judge in charge?

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repeater

Ito?

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Jesus Malverde

Aha! Guess I don't have to look back very far at all to answer my own question.

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SonnyBono

Here are the civil action <a href = "http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0810042kobe1.html">documents.</a> The first couple pages are just legal crap; but if you start on the third page and read the cause of action, it can be rather convincing. But then again, she could have skewed how it happened, especially if she was a promiscuous as the prosecutors are making her out to be. But Kobe certainly doesn't have much going for him if that story at O'Neal's house holds up. That's why we have juries, so I don't have to worry about it until I'm called in.

degrawj

kind of interesting. but i can tell you why Kobe won't be *fond* guilty: 1) He's Kobe Bryant, and 2) He didn't commit sexual assault.

Kurant

Or not.

They asked to dismiss the charges today.

Quadraton

It's more like "dismiss without prejudice", which means they can drop the charges for now, but can bring him back to trial at a later date. It's kind of like calling a truce because you need time to reload.

Of course, the judge still has to agree to this before they can do it.

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j8ear

Interesting...I read and heard that the dismissal was WITH prejudice meaning that charges COULDN NOT ever be filed again.

Still researching.

-bear

OK from an ABCNEWS article here:
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/U..._040901-1.html

The charge was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled at a future date. Bryant's statement was issued with the understanding it cannot be used in the civil suit the woman has filed against him.

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edmos1

the girl will not testify? is that so she can get paid? Sorry to be so negative, but she was saying earlier this was not about $, hmmmmm

analog

I think there are two camps.

One is: "I don't care."
I think people are so pissed about legal shit in general that anything other than Law and Order or Judge Judy make them ignore real cases.


Fucking someone, and sexual assault, are two VERY differnt things, obviously. So by saying "he said he fucked her", you're not actually saying anything toward guilt.


I think the other camp is this... those who are so "OJ'ed out" that they think they can sideline-quarterback real law cases- and then actually get pissed when it turns out they're wrong. It's the mentality that every trial in america is now able to be "judged" by every tom, dick and harry from their couch in front of the TV.

...and no, it has nothing to do with the OJ trial, it has to do with people thinking they know what's what when they don't know shit, and getting pissed when it doesn't go the way they wanted. This happens in all high-profile cases.

There are reasons we have trials, people. Just because it's not what you wanted personally doesn't mean the justice system is flawed.

Rdr4evr

What a waste of time and money that so called "victim" has caused.

CoachAlan

I notice now that this is over, she keeps being referred to as the "victim." Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the police have to refer to people as simply the "suspect" because they are inoccent until proven guilty? Shouldn't the same apply to her? Shouldn't she be called the "alleged victim?" Or maybe "The victim-who-decided-she-wasn't-victim-enough-to-put-the-accused-behind-bars-but-she'll-take-some-money-from-him-if-she-can?"

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Kurant

The judge did agree, he dropped the charges.

Besides, everyone should of seen this 2 weeks ago when it was known she woulen't testify - and she said she may persue a civil suit. I'm sure all that happened at that point, Kobe opened his checkbook and said, "How much?". Speculate all you want, but that's exactly what happened.

paddyjoe

Well, whatever the reasons for it to be dropped, I'm just glad it's over.

Now the kids can get back to hero-worshipping an adulterer, and not a rapist.

Halx

i'm sure the word 'adulterer' would impact me to some degree if a) I was religious and thought marriage was some holy bond between two people and b) I didn't believe that Kobe had his wife's permission the whole time.

This isn't the 1800's, relationships come in many different varieties. Let's not judge others by their definition versus ours.

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Quadraton

I almost kind of wonder how the civil lawsuit is going to hold up now that they couldn't convict him? I mean in the OJ trial, OJ made through the whole process, and was eventually found innocent, but still liable. In this case, there wasn't even enough evidence to continue wth Kobe's trial, so I wonder how that's going to impact the civil case?

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