Judge in Kobe Bryant case criticized

DENVER – Attorneys for the woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape have launched a startling attack on the trial judge, accusing him of trying to protect himself by imposing an unconstitutional gag order only after their client was “devastated” by some of the NBA star’s evidence.

John Clune and L. Lin Wood said the gag order threatens their client’s reputation and her right to a fair trial of her allegations.

The filing was released Monday – the same day state District Judge Terry Ruckriegle rejected a motion by the prosecution and the woman’s attorneys asking that documents in the case not be posted on the court’s Web site.

In both instances, the release of material from closed-door, pretrial hearings is the core issue. Clune and Wood wrote a scathing motion saying the gag order expanded last week by Ruckriegle lets stand the “devastating, one-sided account” from closed hearings into whether the accuser’s sexual history should be entered as evidence.

Clune and a prosecution spokeswoman declined to comment.

The 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.