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YO just read this for all who were interested in this case like me:
The Kobe Bryant case collapsed Wednesday as prosecutors said they had no choice but to drop the sexual assault charge against the NBA star because the alleged victim did not want to testify.
With the parents of the 20-year-old accuser looking on, District Judge Terry Ruckriegle threw out the case under a deal that means no charges will be refiled.
``The people have filed a motion to dismiss this case based on the fact the sole victim at this time is unable to go forward,'' District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the judge. He said the alleged victim did not want to participate in the trial, including taking the stand.
The woman's attorney, John Clune, said his client has been through an extremely difficult time over the past 14 months and was disturbed by a series of courthouse mistakes that included the release of her name and medical history.
``It is in her sincere belief that when this case ends she does not want to be brought back into the criminal process,'' Clune told the judge. ``The difficulties that this case has imposed on this woman the past year are unimaginable.''
Ruckriegle admitted mistakes had been made and took full responsibility.
The prosecution dropped the case as jury selection was beginning to wrap up. Opening statements had been expected next Tuesday.
Bryant, 26, has said he had consensual sex with a then-19-year-old employee of a Vail-area resort where he stayed last summer. Had he been convicted, the Los Angeles Lakers star would have faced four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.
Bryant still faces a federal civil lawsuit filed by the accuser that seeks unspecified damages.
Defense attorneys this week asked the judge to dismiss the assault charge, saying prosecutors had refused to turn over details that could suggest Bryant is innocent. Court rules require prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange evidence and witness opinions before trial, a process called discovery.
In a motion made public Wednesday, defense attorneys said a forensics expert whom prosecutors had planned to call as a witness had information that ``undermined the accuser's allegations and the prosecution's case, and corroborated Mr. Bryant's defense on a central issue -- the cause and significance of the accuser's alleged injuries.''
The filing said those opinions were not disclosed to the defense until they contacted the expert Friday, despite repeated requests to prosecutors for the information. Prosecutors have said they have turned over all information they were required to.
``A person's life and liberty are at stake,'' the defense attorneys wrote. ``The game of hide-the-ball, find-it-if-you-can discovery is intolerable. This court must vindicate Mr. Bryant's constitutional rights and impose meaningful sanctions against the prosecution.''
The motion does not identify the expert, but prosecutors this spring had said they planned to call former New York City medical examiner Michael Baden to testify about the woman's injuries.
Hurlbert had said during a July 19 hearing he had decided against using Baden. He did not elaborate.
The defense motion was first reported by ABC News, which cited unidentified sources who said Baden told prosecutors the woman's injuries could have been caused by consensual sex. Baden did not return messages Wednesday.
The defense has argued that injuries found on the woman could have been caused by sex with someone else in the time surrounding her encounter with Bryant, including someone afterward and before she went to a hospital. The woman's attorneys have denied that claim.
The Kobe Bryant case collapsed Wednesday as prosecutors said they had no choice but to drop the sexual assault charge against the NBA star because the alleged victim did not want to testify.
With the parents of the 20-year-old accuser looking on, District Judge Terry Ruckriegle threw out the case under a deal that means no charges will be refiled.
``The people have filed a motion to dismiss this case based on the fact the sole victim at this time is unable to go forward,'' District Attorney Mark Hurlbert told the judge. He said the alleged victim did not want to participate in the trial, including taking the stand.
The woman's attorney, John Clune, said his client has been through an extremely difficult time over the past 14 months and was disturbed by a series of courthouse mistakes that included the release of her name and medical history.
``It is in her sincere belief that when this case ends she does not want to be brought back into the criminal process,'' Clune told the judge. ``The difficulties that this case has imposed on this woman the past year are unimaginable.''
Ruckriegle admitted mistakes had been made and took full responsibility.
The prosecution dropped the case as jury selection was beginning to wrap up. Opening statements had been expected next Tuesday.
Bryant, 26, has said he had consensual sex with a then-19-year-old employee of a Vail-area resort where he stayed last summer. Had he been convicted, the Los Angeles Lakers star would have faced four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.
Bryant still faces a federal civil lawsuit filed by the accuser that seeks unspecified damages.
Defense attorneys this week asked the judge to dismiss the assault charge, saying prosecutors had refused to turn over details that could suggest Bryant is innocent. Court rules require prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange evidence and witness opinions before trial, a process called discovery.
In a motion made public Wednesday, defense attorneys said a forensics expert whom prosecutors had planned to call as a witness had information that ``undermined the accuser's allegations and the prosecution's case, and corroborated Mr. Bryant's defense on a central issue -- the cause and significance of the accuser's alleged injuries.''
The filing said those opinions were not disclosed to the defense until they contacted the expert Friday, despite repeated requests to prosecutors for the information. Prosecutors have said they have turned over all information they were required to.
``A person's life and liberty are at stake,'' the defense attorneys wrote. ``The game of hide-the-ball, find-it-if-you-can discovery is intolerable. This court must vindicate Mr. Bryant's constitutional rights and impose meaningful sanctions against the prosecution.''
The motion does not identify the expert, but prosecutors this spring had said they planned to call former New York City medical examiner Michael Baden to testify about the woman's injuries.
Hurlbert had said during a July 19 hearing he had decided against using Baden. He did not elaborate.
The defense motion was first reported by ABC News, which cited unidentified sources who said Baden told prosecutors the woman's injuries could have been caused by consensual sex. Baden did not return messages Wednesday.
The defense has argued that injuries found on the woman could have been caused by sex with someone else in the time surrounding her encounter with Bryant, including someone afterward and before she went to a hospital. The woman's attorneys have denied that claim.
