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KOBE BRYANT |
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NEWS INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT / CNN
Kendall Coffey: No signals from DA on Bryant case
Friday, July 18, 2003 Posted: 9:39 AM EDT (1339 GMT)
(CNN) -- Two weeks after arresting basketball star Kobe Bryant, authorities in Colorado are scheduled to announce Friday afternoon whether charges will be filed in an alleged sexual assault case. No details of the victim's allegations have been made public, and a judge has sealed information in the case. The Los Angeles Lakers player told the Los Angeles Times last weekend, "I would never do anything like that," but he has not publicly commented further. Legal analyst Kendall Coffey talked to CNN Anchor Carol Costello by phone Friday about the factors likely weighing in the authorities' decision-making. COSTELLO: This has taken two weeks. Has there been any indication at all as to what prosecutors might do? COFFEY: Remarkably tight-lipped, no signals at all. The one thing we know, of course, is that the sheriff's department found enough evidence for a probable cause arrest. So the prosecution is not writing on a totally empty slate. [District Attorney Mark Hurlbert] has to be prepared to justify whichever decision it makes -- either to drop the case after that initial arrest or else attempt to secure a conviction in what might be largely a credibility contest involving a very popular sports superstar. COSTELLO: Is that the key issue in this prosecutor's decision? COFFEY: The key issue is going to be whether there is enough independent evidence from the local hospital perhaps, from the state crime lab testing reports, DNA, those sorts of issues, because a she said/he said trial by itself in this case doesn't seem strong enough to assure a conviction. COSTELLO: Now talk a little bit about the alleged victim in this case. A Colorado newspaper wants police to release records of any calls to the woman's house previous to this allegation, and the court is refusing to do that. Can it do that? COFFEY: I think at this point the court is well within its rights to protect the privacy of someone who is an alleged victim of a sexual assault. COSTELLO: So this isn't any special treatment because Kobe Bryant is the man charged? COFFEY: I don't think so. With celebrity cases, there are always allegations of special treatment, and to some extent, with matters of press interest, public perception, obviously are treated differently. You don't have a press conference being announced to the nation for ordinary defendants. But with respect to the actual prosecution decision in this kind of case, it's going to come down to whether there is sufficiency of evidence to obtain a conviction before a jury. http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/07/18/otsc.coffey/index.html?iref=newssearch |
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CNN legal analyst Kendall Coffey |
