http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1852474
The judge in the Kobe Bryant case expanded a gag order after lawyers for
Bryant's accuser said she would rethink whether to participate in the upcoming
criminal trial.
District Judge Terry Ruckriegle issued the sweeping order late Wednesday in
response to a motion by the NBA star's lawyers. The defense motion was not re-
leased.
The court, Ruckriegle wrote, "is seriously concerned that the continued pub-
lic comment of participants in this case will disrupt the process by which a
fair trial may be preserved."
Bryant is accused of raping a hotel worker at a resort near Vail last June.
Lawyers for the woman, who is now 20, surprised some legal analysts by
appearing on television Wednesday to discuss their client's concerns about the
upcoming trial.
John Clune and L. Lin Wood expressed their frustration about court mistakes
which hurt their client. The most recent was the release of closed-door hearing
transcripts in which a defense expert testified that she believes the woman had
sex after her encounter with Bryant but before she underwent a rape exam.
Clune has vehemently denied the expert's claims but has said the original gag
order, covering lawyers and law enforcement agents involved in the case, pre-
vents him from offering another explanation for the DNA evidence.
The new order specifically bans eight groups of people from talking about the
case in the days leading up to Bryant's trial, which is set to begin Aug. 27.
Those covered by the new order are: prosecutors and their agents, Bryant and
his agents, the accuser and her agents, law enforcement and their agents, all
witnesses and anyone who attended closed-door hearings. The order also covers
anyone who works for any of these people and anyone who shares an office with
any of them.
Bryant's lawyers and prosecutors have accused each other of violating the gag
order throughout the case. An outside investigation into whether the sheriff's
office or prosecutors were leaking information turned up nothing.
Prosecutors also complained about the defense's repeated use of the alleged
victim's name during Bryant's preliminary hearing in open court last year. In
March, Ruckriegle issued a warning to attorneys reminding them of the gag order
. That came two weeks after Clune denied defense claims that the woman had sex
with someone else hours after the alleged assault.
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