If she were unwilling to testify, I would agree. The prosecution could not win. However, remember the premise -- and we all obviously would not wish for the scenario to become reality but this is just for the sake of debate -- the victim commits suicide due to the adverse publicity. In that case, her testimony becomes "death bed" testimony, which is admissible and, as I said, much more difficult to refute because she obviously cannot be cross-examined. Ergo, innocent or guilty, Kobe would be toast.
First off, this statement really makes me question whether or not you're chinese. If you're chinese, you know the political climate has changed a lot in China since the period in which that movie was made. While there's still a TON of work to be done, there have been many efforts from the top down to improve the system there to attract foreign investers. 2nd off, that statement about celebirties walking away with rape etc, don't tell me men with power and prestige don't get off the hook in China, as much as the upper level's have increased awareness in trying to stop corruption, it's still a big part of Chinese culture, if you have the neccessary funds and connections in China, you can get away with a lot of shiet. Once again makes me wonder if you're really Chinese. 3rd, while women tend to not come foward about crimes such as rape in general out of shame (which is something that needs to change), this instance is even more common in China. If you're Chinese, then you would know that the likelyhood of a women coming foward about being raped by a powerful man is very small even if it's true, not to mention in this case where all the evidence as we know of is heresay.
I dunno. I actually think that would give Kobe a walk by default. It would throw extreme doubt into her emotional stability - and hence her ability to perceive events rationally (especially since it would've been her 3rd attempt in such close proximity). Although her prior suicide attempts might not be admissible evidence, it's kind of hard for the jury to ignore that she's not on the stand because she's dead. I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up taking her own life one day - accidentally or on purpose. There's a high rate of completed suicides from people who've used attempts in the past as sympathy stunts.
Even if the evidence is not admissable. I'd bet you anything the jurors find out about it. They may or may not discuss it in the jury room. That is debateable since the judge will order them not to even know about it. But I can guarantee some of them will be discussing her history in their home. And that's all Kobe will need to get off. Because your going to have three or four jurors asking themselves why they didn't get this information in the courtrom. jurors are intelligent enuff to ask why. And There's your doubt. If they allow her suicides to be admissable. Same thing. There's your doubt. Whether he did it or not. I don't see 12 jurors convicting given her history. The only way they could do it is if they had an eye witness or some piece of evidence that removes all doubt such as an admission of guilt, a weapon, or something. I was asking myself the other day if Kobe is acting guilty or not. And I really don't know. He hasn't flat out cried for his innocence. But how could he. He is guilty of something. So there's nothing he could really say at this point. And I came to the conclusion that his actions don't really tell me anything.
Bryant's attorneys would be put in the position of defaming the dead, and Bryant could easily have a jury sympathetic to the death of a teenage girl caused by all of the Team Kobe's negative publicity pushing her into a suicide. Ugh. All this is too gruesome for a nice Sunday afternoon. My point really is that if Team Kobe keeps trashing this girl outside the courtroom, they may get much more than they bargained for.
Thumbs: I don't know if his team is trashing her in the media. The media really digs hard for that stuff. It's them who are going to court to have her 911 records unsealed. Otoh, Kobe's team has requested an investigation into info which they -claim- was leaked by someone privy to the case. I don't know if they truly believe that or it's a game to get the legal wheels spinning. PhiSlamma: I think there's a lot of things that could throw reasonable doubt into the jurors' minds. How convincingly Kobe articulates his story, how plausible it sounds, how consistently he sticks to it, the plausibility of alternate explanations of the "physical evidence", etc. But I think her recent emotional past does carry a stigma for most people if nothing else. If they're going to convict someone as beloved and famous as Kobe Bryant from 4 to life, they'd probably rather have someone who's cred is above reproach. This young woman's cred may not live up to that standard. As far as his actions being able to hint at guilt, he's going to be hypercriticized. After the hearing, some "expert" on CourtTV went on and on about his lack of a tie being disrespectful to the court. What can you do? I think it's best if he leads his life as normal to give off the impression that he's confident.
First, I doubt if she was deposed - she may have given affidavits. Nonetheless, any prior statements she gave under oath were not subject to cross-examination, and therefore inadmissable. Without the accuser testifying in open court, subject to cross-examination, there would be virtually no evidence of sexual assault.
