Volume III. No. 04
 09-07-04
 Kobe
 author: Vance Cureton
 © Copyright 2004
 

 What is there left to say about the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case
 now that the charges against him have been dropped with prejudice.
 { can never be filed again } Bryant no longer faces what could have 
 been decades in a tidy little jail cell. Despite the dismissal, human nature 
 being what it is, many people will still believe he did something substantially 
 wrong. If not having actually committed the rape for which he no longer 
 is subject to criminal prosecution. In other words he is, and will forever 
 remain in the eyes of a large percentage of the public, an adulterer and 
 a rapist. 

 This kind of stain will not come off.

 Kobe Bryant, as an example, is a far step from Mike Tyson. The former
 heavyweight champion is a sad sack human being who is sometimes pitied, 
 as much as he is feared. But Bryant, like Tyson, is damaged goods. And 
 if he doesn't think so. He will soon find out.

 As for Bryant's accuser. The people in that small village in Colorado 
 already know who she is. They know her family. And especially they
 know of her reputation before the Bryant case came about. But, because 
 of the rape trial - and the media circus that her accusation spawned - 
 the citizens of Eagle Colorado and the rest of the nation have been 
 privy to a bit too much rumor and speculation about this young 
 woman's psychological and sexual history. --- And many of these
 rumors have been of the worst sort. The talk around the watercooler
 is that she is a head case and sexually indiscreet.

 In a word, she will forever be known as "that crazy woman"  who went 
 up to Bryant's hotel room and got herself in a situation. Her reputation 
 is also ruined. Forgive us, if we speculate that she already realizes as 
 much.

 Some will say, that nobody won. That both Bryant and his accuser
 have lost a part of themselves that will be forever estranged. But this
 high-profile rape case is a spotlight upon how justice can be blindly
 ambitious. The rape charges never should have been brought in the 
 first place. Only because the evidence of rape was far from conclusive. 
 Not because Kobe Bryant is in any way presumed factually innocent 
 of some indecent sexual activity, consensual or not.

 { if the case had continued DNA evidence of sexual activity "after"
 the alleged rape, although disputed by the accuser's legal team, would 
 have all but procluded any chance of a successful conviction... }

 The real losers in all of this are the citizens of Eagle, Colorado who 
 have to foot the bill for this over-reaching prosecution. Mark Hurlbert,
 the D.A. who brought the case, shouldn't take on any new financial 
 obligations. He's going to be looking for employment soon. Hurlbert's
 prospects for re-election as county prosecutor have dropped down 
 to about zero.

 Prosecutors in general, have a habit of saying, "let a jury determine
 the guilt or innocence of the accused." That's all fine and good. But,
 the problem with such thinking is when politics and personal ambition 
 get in the way of the prosecutor's office making the proper decision
 of declining to bring a case to trial, if the evidence - and the circumstances
 surrounding an alleged crime - fall short of even the minimum required
for a conviction.

 This standard was not met in the Bryant case. Even the judge at the
 preliminary hearing stated quite clearly in his decision to allow the
 charges that there was scarcely enough evidence for the case to proceed
 forward. The harsh, cold, reality is that in this one particular instance, 
 the activities of Kobe's accuser outside of that motel room, were relevant 
 as to the credibility of her rape accusation. Because Hurlbert responded 
 to public pressure he unwisely took an unproveable case to court that 
 was doomed almost from the moment the charges were filed.

 All that remains now is the civil case that has been filed against Mr. 
 Bryant in federal court. How amazing it is that Bryant's accuser who 
 fears the great embarassment of testying in the criminal case - allegedy 
 because she has lost faith in the prosecutor's office. Is perfectly, 
 comfortable with the civil case where Mr. Bryant's lawyers will have 
 more leeway in attacking her credibility than they would have been 
 allowed in the criminal  trial.

 Does it not stand to reason, that if a woman has been sexually violated, 
 that she should feel a just rage against the man who committed such 
 a horrible act? If Kobe Bryant is a rapist he is the one who should 
 fear the environs of the criminal courthouse. The victim has the truth 
 on her side.

 If she was raped, that is.

 Apparently, the prospect of a big fat payday in civil court is not embarrasing 
 at all.
 

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