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Updated Aug. 10, 2004, 10:22 a.m. ET

Prosecutors: Bryant judge threatens accuser's right to fair trial

DENVER (AP) — Lawyers for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape said even Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was treated more fairly than she was, and have accused the judge of trying to protect himself by imposing an unconstitutional gag order.

In a court filing released Monday, John Clune and L. Lin Wood said their client was "devastated" by some of the NBA star's evidence that was mistakenly released by the court.

The lawyers said District Judge Terry Ruckriegle's gag order — expanded last week after they appeared on national television on Aug. 5 — means that "only the rapist's version of events will be disseminated to the media."

"Even Timothy McVeigh had a right to speak. No less right belongs to a rape victim," the attorneys wrote.


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The courts said McVeigh, executed in June 2001 for the Oklahoma City bombing, could speak with the media to counter negative publicity about him, Clune and Wood wrote in their filing.

To prevent future mistakes, lawyers on both sides had asked Ruckriegle to stop posting case filings on the court's Web site but Ruckriegle rejected that motion Monday.

In both instances, the release of material from closed-door, pretrial hearings is the core issue. In their scathing motion, Clune and Wood said the expanded gag order lets stand the "devastating, one-sided account" from closed hearings into whether the alleged victim's sexual history should be entered as evidence.

Clune and a prosecution spokeswoman declined comment.

Transcripts accidentally e-mailed to seven media outlets focused primarily on a defense expert's opinion that the woman had sex with someone after Bryant and before her hospital exam, and a defense claim that she is pursuing the case for monetary reasons.

The 25-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar has said the 20-year-old woman consented to sex with him last summer at the Vail-area resort where she worked.

The media, including The Associated Press, challenged Ruckriegle's order barring publication of the transcripts. Under pressure from the U.S. Supreme Court, Ruckriegle released edited versions.

Clune and Wood argued that the court is trying to use the gag order to prevent "public comment and criticism regarding the frequent prejudicial errors by which this court has permitted the victim's name to be released and her character, credibility and reputation to be attacked," Clune and Wood wrote.

Former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman, who has been following the case, described the salvo from the woman's attorneys as "scapegoating the court."

"The court has made mistakes, but it did not make up this `devastating' new information about the accuser having sex with Mr. X," Silverman said.

Silverman said although the expanded gag order, which covers more people, may have constitutional problems, the motion lambasting it "has done a masterful job" of deflecting attention from what was in the transcripts.

Ruckriegle apologized during a July 30 hearing for the inadvertent release of information. He has ruled, however, that the woman's sex life in the three days before her July 1, 2003, hospital exam can be used as evidence because it is relevant to help determine the cause of her injuries, the source of DNA evidence and her credibility.

Bryant is charged with felony sexual assault. If convicted, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000. Jury selection begins Aug. 27.

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