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Bryant's Lawyers Continue Push for Medical Records
Kobe Bryant's lawyers have asked for a hearing on their request for medical records of the woman who accused Bryant of rape, saying the documents would help the judge evaluate her credibility.
In a court filing Monday, defense attorney Pamela Mackey said the records should be released before Bryant's Oct. 9 preliminary hearing, when the judge will decide whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant a trial.
Bryant's lawyers have asked for the woman's records from a clinic in Eagle, a hospital in Greeley and the student health service at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The woman had been treated earlier this year for mental health problems.
Bryant is charged with raping the 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 in his suite at a mountain resort where she worked and he was a guest. Bryant has said the two had consensual sex.
Prosecutors are fighting release of the records, saying the woman hasn't waived her privacy rights except on records from a medical examination the day after the alleged attack.
The defense is also trying to force the woman to testify during the preliminary hearing, and Mackey's filing Monday said the defense wants to have the medical records in order to ask the woman about them.
"Because of the importance of the accuser's testimony to a finding of probable cause, the defense should be permitted to test her credibility as fully as possible, even at this preliminary stage,'' she wrote.
Prosecutors have asked the judge not to force the accuser to testify at the preliminary hearing. They plan to present a videotaped statement by her.
Legal experts said the defense request for a hearing on the medical records might be another attempt to put the woman on the stand before a trial.
Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said the woman might have to testify at such a hearing for a judge to determine whether she waived her right to medical privacy by discussing her medical history with others.
"They win if they force her to testify because it gives them a pretrial opportunity to see her on the stand,'' Silverman said.
Stan Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said seeking the woman's testimony at a medical records hearing is a long shot. But he said it is still much more likely to succeed than a request to have her testify during the preliminary hearing, because the medical records hearing would deal with potential evidence.
Source: sportsline
In a court filing Monday, defense attorney Pamela Mackey said the records should be released before Bryant's Oct. 9 preliminary hearing, when the judge will decide whether the evidence is sufficient to warrant a trial.
Bryant's lawyers have asked for the woman's records from a clinic in Eagle, a hospital in Greeley and the student health service at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. The woman had been treated earlier this year for mental health problems.
Bryant is charged with raping the 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 in his suite at a mountain resort where she worked and he was a guest. Bryant has said the two had consensual sex.
Prosecutors are fighting release of the records, saying the woman hasn't waived her privacy rights except on records from a medical examination the day after the alleged attack.
The defense is also trying to force the woman to testify during the preliminary hearing, and Mackey's filing Monday said the defense wants to have the medical records in order to ask the woman about them.
"Because of the importance of the accuser's testimony to a finding of probable cause, the defense should be permitted to test her credibility as fully as possible, even at this preliminary stage,'' she wrote.
Prosecutors have asked the judge not to force the accuser to testify at the preliminary hearing. They plan to present a videotaped statement by her.
Legal experts said the defense request for a hearing on the medical records might be another attempt to put the woman on the stand before a trial.
Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman said the woman might have to testify at such a hearing for a judge to determine whether she waived her right to medical privacy by discussing her medical history with others.
"They win if they force her to testify because it gives them a pretrial opportunity to see her on the stand,'' Silverman said.
Stan Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said seeking the woman's testimony at a medical records hearing is a long shot. But he said it is still much more likely to succeed than a request to have her testify during the preliminary hearing, because the medical records hearing would deal with potential evidence.
Source: sportsline