Bryant Accuser Attends Hearing

EAGLE, Colo. — The woman who has accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault unexpectedly sat in on two hours of testimony by mental health experts Monday during a closed court hearing, entering and exiting through a fire exit.

Legal experts said the testimony probably pertained to her multiple suicide attempts and use of alcohol and drugs -- both prescription and recreational. A court spokeswoman said the hearing on those topics was completed, as was a hearing on whether evidence seized from Bryant the day after the alleged rape will be admissible at trial.

Judge Terry Ruckriegle is expected to open the courtroom today to the media and public after the morning recess, and Bryant could enter a plea by the afternoon. Ruckriegle will set a trial date at that time.

Court spokeswoman Karen Salaz said the judge might push to complete the agenda today and cancel Wednesday’s proceeding.

“We are out of closed court a half-day sooner than expected,” she said. “It was a pretty aggressive goal.”

Another long day, however, could jeopardize Bryant getting back to Los Angeles in time to make the tipoff of tonight’s Western Conference semifinal game between the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs.

The only certainty is that this will be the last conflict between a Laker game and a Bryant court date. Several days of pretrial hearings are scheduled to begin June 21, one day after the end of the NBA playoffs.

A courthouse source said jury selection is expected to begin late in August and that the judge believes the trial could be completed in five weeks.

Bryant, 25, has said he had consensual sex with the 19-year-old woman June 30 at a mountain resort where she worked. If convicted of felony sexual assault, he would face four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.

The proceeding Monday lasted 10 hours, and Bryant was in court the entire time. By mid-morning, the hearing on whether his audio taped interview with detectives and a blood-stained T-shirt taken from him will be admissible was completed. The last witnesses were audiotape experts Richard Sanders, who testified for the third time for the defense, and John Polito, a Burbank composer and producer called by the prosecution. Closing arguments are due in writing May 17 and Ruckriegle will issue his rulings before the trial.

At 2:30 p.m. PDT, Bryant’s accuser walked across the hall from the fire exit to the courtroom and listened to the testimony of prosecution witness and forensic psychologist Joel Dvoskin and of defense witness Jan Fawcett, a psychiatrist and expert on the biomedical aspects of depression and suicide.

“It is highly unusual for a complaining witness to listen to the testimony of other witnesses at a pretrial hearing,” legal analyst Craig Silverman said.

This was the second time the woman and Bryant were in the courtroom together. She was questioned for more than three hours about her sexual and medical history during a March 24 hearing.

Before Bryant enters a plea, several other topics will be addressed in open court, most prompted by defense motions. Attorneys for the Laker guard are expected to argue that prosecutors have not turned over all evidence that could help him. The defense also wants potential jurors to be the subject of extensive questioning.

Ruckriegle will hear arguments on whether Bryant’s accuser should be referred to as a “victim” during trial, and on the constitutionality of the Colorado rape-shield law.