Colorado town braces for Bryant onslaught
( 2003-08-06 10:42) (Agencies)
Across the street from the Eagle County courthouse, a mini-community of
satellite trucks and television tents has suddenly sprouted. Inside, final
touches were being put on a security plan more suited for a head of state.
Kobe Bryant arrives Wednesday for his first court hearing in his sexual
assault case, a whirlwind appearance that means little legally but has sparked a
media frenzy in this otherwise sleepy mountain town.
"If there's not a change of venue this is just the beginning of the
headache," Eagle police Officer Paul Ramsay said while reviewing security
Tuesday.
Bryant will jet into a nearby airport, spend about 10 minutes in court to
be advised of the charge against him and leave. The session before the judge is
expected to be brief, but the stark pictures and video of the 24-year-old NBA
superstar in court will leave an enduring image.
Bryant hoped to avoid his initial appearance, but Judge Frederick Gannett
ruled otherwise. His attorneys also lost their battle to keep cameras out of the
courtroom.
Now, Bryant begins the formal part of what could be a long legal fight of
a felony charge that has damaged his reputation and could put him in prison.
Lawyers for both sides are trying to keep secret details of the
accusations by the 19-year-old hotel worker who came to his room June 30 at a
nearby mountain resort.
Gannett issued a gag order for those involved in the case and sealed
police and investigator records. That hasn't stopped some media outlets from
quoting sources ¡ª usually unidentified ¡ª about the woman's condition and frame
of mind after she left Bryant's room the night.
"This already extensive media coverage has erupted into an intensive
media campaign to expose every detail of the alleged incident," prosecutors
wrote in arguing to keep the evidence sealed.
Bryant won't be asked to enter a plea Wednesday, only to acknowledge the
charge against him. The judge could then set a timetable for future court
sessions that will probably lead to a preliminary hearing, when evidence against
Bryant will be made public.
Authorities are taking no chances for a hearing that has drawn so much
media that seats in the small courtroom had to be rationed and an overflow tent
for media set up outside.
Officials plan to clear the courthouse, bring out their only metal
detector and post sheriff's deputies everywhere to try to ensure there aren't
any problems.
Greg Crittenden, an attorney in the district attorney's office, told the
judge last week that the case required special treatment.
"We're dealing with a celebrity that's recognized worldwide and for that
reason we have to look at this not as any other case," Crittenden said.
Indeed, though the county fair and rodeo closed Sunday, the circus is now
in town. Motels in the town of 3,500 that straddles Interstate 70 about 30 miles
from Vail have "No vacancy" signs, and restaurants are doing booming business.
Townspeople seem to be tiring of the media attention, as evidenced by a
sign outside the Eagle Pharmacy downtown pleading for people to be quiet.
"Support the families with a no comment," it reads.
This will be a different kind of court for Bryant than the one where he knows
all the moves. In this court there will be no cheering spectators. And lawyers
will coach Bryant on what to say and how to say it.
Of course, the stakes are also a lot higher than a Los Angeles Lakers (news)'
playoff loss, which reduced Bryant to tears a few months ago. If convicted, he
faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine
of up to $750,000.
A trial appears inevitable, unless Bryant's attorneys can persuade the judge
to throw the case out for lack of evidence at his preliminary hearing. Even if
they are successful, the evidence made public at the hearing will probably
further stain the once clean-cut image of one of America's most celebrated
athletes.
"Once the accusation is brought to the police it's almost impossible to
settle it," said Florida attorney Roy Black, who won an acquittal for William
Kennedy Smith in a 1991 rape trial. "If he pleads guilty he loses endorsements
and his popularity as a player."
With a smile as dazzling as his play, Bryant was a superstar who made all the
right moves and said all the right things.
Now, he is an admitted adulterer, at the very least, and he has already lost
one endorsement.
Bryant's wife, Vanessa, sat by his side at an extraordinary news conference
where he said the sex with his accuser was consensual.
The woman will never be the same, either. She is well known in Eagle, and her
friends at first were more than eager to discuss the woman's virtues and what
they thought were her faults.
Bryant, free on $25,000 bond, is to begin preseason practice late next month
with the Lakers in Hawaii. The judge has put no restrictions on his travel.
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