Kobe Might Walk

Kobe Bryant’s defense team scored a major victory today. They claim that his accuser had multiple sexual partners in the days surrounding her June 2003 encounter with Bryant, including sex with someone after the alleged attack and before she contacted the authorities.

Denver (ESPN) — The judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case ruled Friday that the accuser’s sex life during the week of their encounter can be used against her at trial, a huge victory for the defense and perhaps the most important decision in the case.

District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said details of the woman’s sexual activities in the three days before her July 1, 2003, hospital examination are relevant to help determine the cause of her injuries and the source of DNA evidence. He also said the evidence was important in determining the woman’s credibility.

Colorado’s strict rape-shield law, which generally prevents the sex life of an alleged assault victim from being admitted as evidence, does not apply to all the information Bryant’s lawyers wanted to introduce, the judge said. He said “specific instances of sexual activity” and evidence of sex can be offered to bolster the defense contention that her injuries were not caused by the NBA star.

[…] “This case is just going to have a massive accumulation of evidence that targets the credibility of the accuser. In most sexual assault cases, the complaining witness is the strength of the case. In this one, she’s the weakness of the case,” said Larry Pozner, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. “This evidence is as damaging a set of facts as a prosecutor could ever have to contend with and one wonders if at long last the accuser will pull the plug on this case.”Even though it’s a criminal case, I still think the defense will figure out a way to wrap up a financial settlement before trial.