Breaking News..Kobe Case DROPPED!!

is all I really have to say

 

Now was it dropped or are they just asking for it to be dismissed? I think that happens all the time.

 

What the hell? Our piece of sh*t courts of justice. It's that damn celebrity status. There's gotta be more to this story.

 

And here are the details:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5861379/

Prosecutors will ask for Kobe dismissal — with a catch

D.A. reportedly wants the right to refile charges at a later date

EAGLE, Colo. - Prosecutors have agreed to dismiss sexual assault charges against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant with one big catch — they want the right to retry the case at a later date, NBC News has learned.[

The prosecutors will move to dismiss the case "without prejudice", according to the report, which means they can refile the case later. It is not known whether or not the judge is inclined to accept the motion.

Attorneys for Bryant asked the judge to dismiss the case earlier in the day, saying prosecutors have refused to turn over details that could suggest he is innocent.

Court rules require prosecutors and defense attorneys to exchange evidence and witness opinions before trial, a process called discovery.

In a motion made public Wednesday, defense attorneys said a forensics expert whom prosecutors had planned to call as a witness had information that “undermined the accuser’s allegations and the prosecution’s case, and corroborated Mr. Bryant’s defense on a central issue — the cause and significance of the accuser’s alleged injuries.”

The filing said those opinions were not disclosed to the defense until they contacted the expert Friday, despite repeated requests to prosecutors for the information. Prosecutors have said they have turned over all information they were required to.


The judge gave prosecutors until Tuesday — the day opening statements are scheduled to begin — to respond to the defense motion.

“A person’s life and liberty are at stake,” the defense attorneys wrote. “The game of hide-the-ball, find-it-if-you-can discovery is intolerable.”

Defense attorneys asked that the judge either dismiss the case or bar prosecutors from introducing any expert testimony relating to the accuser’s injuries.

The motion does not identify the expert, but prosecutors this spring had said they planned to call former New York City medical examiner Michael Baden to testify about the woman’s injuries.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said during a July 19 hearing that he had decided against using Baden. He did not elaborate. Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan declined to comment, citing a gag order imposed by the judge.

The motion was first reported by ABC News, which cited unidentified sources who said Baden told prosecutors the woman’s injuries could have been caused by consensual sex. A message left for Baden was not immediately returned.


Motions to dismiss on the eve of trial are not uncommon and often are unsuccessful, said Scott Robinson, a defense attorney familiar with the case. He said the judge likely will schedule a hearing quickly because if such motions are granted after a jury is sworn in, charges cannot be refiled.

Bryant, 26, has said he had consensual sex with a then-19-year-old employee of a Vail-area resort where he stayed last summer. If convicted of felony sexual assault, he would face four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.

Meanwhile, the last round of questioning of individual jury candidates resumed Wednesday. In all, 160 prospective jurors have been questioned through Tuesday with 40 more to go.

Open-court jury selection is expected to begin Thursday, with opening statements scheduled for Tuesday. The jury will include 12 panelists and two alternates.

 

This case is over....Bryant walks free.

DD

 

Good, it was becoming a joke.

 

I'm not a defense attorney, but I would think that every time you represented a client who had money, you would file a motion for dismissal. If you had really good grounds, you'd ask that the case be dismissed with prejudice, so that charges couldn't be filed again.

Lawyers file things like this all the time people. It doesn't mean they have any real grounds or that they'll win.

 

My guess is there will be a lot of cash exchanging hands. The girl gets money. The judge gets money. The DA gets money. Kobe pays out. It's really the best result. It does no good for the girl if Kobe cannot make the money from the huge contract he signed with the Lakers. Also, Buss is not exactly standing still in this matter since his Lakers would be absolute trash without Kobe.

 

If they think the guy is guilty why not go on with the case? Why allow a guilty man to enjoy freedom? It doesn't look good for the prosecution...

 

Do you believe the state gov't would have hired six att'ys to convict you?

I suspect his celeb status cost him - dearly - in this case.

But, of course, you have judged him guilty?

 

Kobe's attorneys fees are going to be unreal, as you can imagine. One pundit who was asked about it on MSNBC the other day said estimates could reach close to $10 million. And that's not including the jack he spent on his wife Vanessa's big ass ring.

 

Hey, it's either pay $10 million in order to play basketball for $100 million, or skimp on a legal team and get paid $.30 an hour doing laundry.

 

Indeed, the defense attorneys have earned their $. Of course, the prosecution screwed up this case pretty badly, and the court didn't help matters.

 

Actually the defense filed for dismissal first but they wanted with prejudice, meaning theey could not try Bryant for the same charges,,, and then the prosecution filed for a dismissal without prejudice meaning they agree to drop the charges but may decide to bring them back at a later date. They must not have much of a case if they are filing for dismissal. ABC seems to think they will agree to a dismissal within 24 - 48 hours and it will all be over. That is accept for the civil case.

 

I don't know what the rules and customs are in CO criminal court, but I do know that, here, in civil court, if you went all the way through with discovery & endless pretrial pleadings & motions, and wasted tons of your, the other side, & the Court's time with all the stuff to get ready for trial, engaged in the accompanying media circus, put the judge on the spot and in the spotlight, etc etc etc -- and then, a few days before trial, you asked the Judge (who has just cleared up his calendar and done all this crap for your trial):

"Hey, you know what, my case isn't real good, can we take a timeout, and I'll come back in like a few months, and we'll do this all again if I can get anything good!", his answer would probably be two words: F-you.

He would either then offer you the chance to keep going to trial with what you have or let you dismiss it with prejudice - meaning you can't come back and charge him again.

Again, not sure how this works in Colorado, but that's the way most judges I think would handle this situation