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Experts: Kobe Bryant's defense in front by a long shot
Not long after he was accused of rape, Kobe Bryant held a nationally televised news conference with his wife in which he tearfully admitted to adultery and nothing else.
More recently, though, Bryant's side has managed to put the focus on the mental health and sex life of Bryant's 19-year-old accuser.
Behind the shift is a deep-pocketed defense team for the NBA star that has kept prosecutors off balance with a flood of paperwork and dominated court sessions in the case.
The defense has hit the prosecution with court filings questioning everything about the case, from the motives of sheriff's investigators and the accuser herself to the constitutionality of a Colorado law that protects rape victims. A trial is months away at the earliest.
The prosecutor, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, has recruited expert help from his counterparts around Colorado, but at times has seemed to be grasping for words in Judge Terry Ruckriegle's courtroom.
Legal experts say Hurlbert is delivering a methodical, textbook case but is simply not keeping up with quick-thinking defense attorney Pamela Mackey and her sharp-tongued partner, Hal Haddon.
"I would say outgunned, outclassed," trial consultant Howard Varinsky said of the prosecution.
Many experts believe Hurlbert is fighting a losing battle: He has a case in which the alleged victim told authorities she flirted with Bryant and her panties contained someone else's semen when they were submitted for DNA tests. The defense also says there is evidence the woman took anti-psychotic medication and tried to kill herself in hopes of winning attention from an ex-boyfriend.
"If the facts aren't good, you could have the best prosecutor in the world and still lose the case," said Eagle attorney Jim Fahrenholtz, a former prosecutor. Even so, Fahrenholtz said, "It's a rout. The defense has just been killing them."
Bryant, a 25-year-old guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, could get life in prison if convicted. He has said he had consensual sex with the woman June 30 while staying at the mountain resort where she worked.
Mackey took control of the case early, suggesting in open court that the accuser was promiscuous and repeatedly uttering her name despite warnings from the judge. Mackey apologized, saying she would write herself a note as a reminder.
"Or I could get you a big muzzle," Judge Frederick Gannett said. When he sent the case on to a higher court for trial, Gannett chided the prosecution for offering "minimal" evidence.
Since then, the case has been the subject of a major paper battle.
Among other things, the defense contends the accuser waived her right to medical privacy (the lawyers say her past will help prove she had a "scheme" to falsely accuse Bryant) and wants to overturn the state's 30-year-old rape-shield law -- a fight that could wind up before the Colorado Supreme Court. The attorneys say the law violates a defendant's right to confront his accuser.
The 35-year-old Hurlbert has insisted he can win a conviction, and legal experts say he must have solid evidence to have come this far.
But Hurlbert has appeared to falter at times: The trial judge called his request for an investigation into media leaks a waste of time and questioned his attempt to bar the defense from observing evidence testing.
Perhaps most embarrassing was Hurlbert's admission that someone in his office had ordered T-shirts mocking the NBA star, including one emblazoned: "I'm not a rapist; I'm just a cheater."
While Mackey and Haddon have the luxury of concentrating on the Bryant case, Hurlbert has to keep track of other cases in his bailiwick, which covers four counties.
Norm Early, a former Denver prosecutor, said it is far too early to discount the prosecution.
"It seems to me that after the preliminary hearing, a lot of people wrote the victim's case off," Early said. "That's unfortunate since she's never had a chance to testify, didn't choose her prosecutors and had no input into their strategy. This young lady deserves her day in court just as Mr. Bryant deserves his."
The 47-year-old Mackey, who once worked as a public defender, is the aggressive half of Bryant's defense team. Both she and Haddon, 63, have experience in high-profile cases, representing former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy and the father of slain 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.
Hurlbert has no such experience.
"Unless we're woefully underestimating the prosecution, the defense is really showing itself to be the better lawyers," said Stan Goldman, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Bryant was booed and heckled during a recent game in Denver, but fans have generally cheered him during games around the country. He led the All-Star balloting in the NBA's Western Conference.
"It's a sign that America is not believing he's guilty," Fahrenholtz said.
Source: ESPN
More recently, though, Bryant's side has managed to put the focus on the mental health and sex life of Bryant's 19-year-old accuser.
Behind the shift is a deep-pocketed defense team for the NBA star that has kept prosecutors off balance with a flood of paperwork and dominated court sessions in the case.
The defense has hit the prosecution with court filings questioning everything about the case, from the motives of sheriff's investigators and the accuser herself to the constitutionality of a Colorado law that protects rape victims. A trial is months away at the earliest.
The prosecutor, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, has recruited expert help from his counterparts around Colorado, but at times has seemed to be grasping for words in Judge Terry Ruckriegle's courtroom.
Legal experts say Hurlbert is delivering a methodical, textbook case but is simply not keeping up with quick-thinking defense attorney Pamela Mackey and her sharp-tongued partner, Hal Haddon.
"I would say outgunned, outclassed," trial consultant Howard Varinsky said of the prosecution.
Many experts believe Hurlbert is fighting a losing battle: He has a case in which the alleged victim told authorities she flirted with Bryant and her panties contained someone else's semen when they were submitted for DNA tests. The defense also says there is evidence the woman took anti-psychotic medication and tried to kill herself in hopes of winning attention from an ex-boyfriend.
"If the facts aren't good, you could have the best prosecutor in the world and still lose the case," said Eagle attorney Jim Fahrenholtz, a former prosecutor. Even so, Fahrenholtz said, "It's a rout. The defense has just been killing them."
Bryant, a 25-year-old guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, could get life in prison if convicted. He has said he had consensual sex with the woman June 30 while staying at the mountain resort where she worked.
Mackey took control of the case early, suggesting in open court that the accuser was promiscuous and repeatedly uttering her name despite warnings from the judge. Mackey apologized, saying she would write herself a note as a reminder.
"Or I could get you a big muzzle," Judge Frederick Gannett said. When he sent the case on to a higher court for trial, Gannett chided the prosecution for offering "minimal" evidence.
Since then, the case has been the subject of a major paper battle.
Among other things, the defense contends the accuser waived her right to medical privacy (the lawyers say her past will help prove she had a "scheme" to falsely accuse Bryant) and wants to overturn the state's 30-year-old rape-shield law -- a fight that could wind up before the Colorado Supreme Court. The attorneys say the law violates a defendant's right to confront his accuser.
The 35-year-old Hurlbert has insisted he can win a conviction, and legal experts say he must have solid evidence to have come this far.
But Hurlbert has appeared to falter at times: The trial judge called his request for an investigation into media leaks a waste of time and questioned his attempt to bar the defense from observing evidence testing.
Perhaps most embarrassing was Hurlbert's admission that someone in his office had ordered T-shirts mocking the NBA star, including one emblazoned: "I'm not a rapist; I'm just a cheater."
While Mackey and Haddon have the luxury of concentrating on the Bryant case, Hurlbert has to keep track of other cases in his bailiwick, which covers four counties.
Norm Early, a former Denver prosecutor, said it is far too early to discount the prosecution.
"It seems to me that after the preliminary hearing, a lot of people wrote the victim's case off," Early said. "That's unfortunate since she's never had a chance to testify, didn't choose her prosecutors and had no input into their strategy. This young lady deserves her day in court just as Mr. Bryant deserves his."
The 47-year-old Mackey, who once worked as a public defender, is the aggressive half of Bryant's defense team. Both she and Haddon, 63, have experience in high-profile cases, representing former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy and the father of slain 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey.
Hurlbert has no such experience.
"Unless we're woefully underestimating the prosecution, the defense is really showing itself to be the better lawyers," said Stan Goldman, a professor at the Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.
Bryant was booed and heckled during a recent game in Denver, but fans have generally cheered him during games around the country. He led the All-Star balloting in the NBA's Western Conference.
"It's a sign that America is not believing he's guilty," Fahrenholtz said.
Source: ESPN