The Rocky Mountain News reports on the reports by ESPN and Fox that a bellman drove Kobe Bryant's accuser home after the attack. But another witness has previously claimed the accuser told him she drove home alone. Just goes to show the only evidence that counts is that which comes from inside the courtroom....

Nonetheless, we'll be debating the case tonight and tomorrow night on MSNBC's Dan Abrams Report, 9pm EST.

Kobe Bryant has suffered his first loss of an endorsement contract--Nutella Chocolate Spread said it would not renew its contract with him in January, 2004. Truth be told, however, it hadn't planned to renew the contract before the sex assault charge:

Ferrero, an Italian company with U.S. headquarters in Somerset, N.J., said it has discontinued all promotions involving the Los Angeles Lakers guard.

"Ferrero U.S.A.'s contract with Kobe Bryant expires in January 2004," the company said in a statement. "Marketing plans established earlier this year did not contemplate a contract renewal. In keeping with this decision, and considering the recent developments, Kobe's image on Nutella labels and promotional material is being phased out."

Since we try to consolidate our Kobe coverage as much as possible for those readers not interested in the case, here's some other news:

The LA Times has an in-depth article about of Kobe's "low-profile" defense team today.

The cable news networks will continue heavy Kobe coverage this week due to the hearing Wednesday and an anticipated ruling, perhaps Thursday, on media access issues related to the sealed warrants and 9/11 calls. We'll be doing Fox News' Hannity and Colmes tonight around the half hour, and MSNBC's Abrams Report Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Our Kobe-only news page is here.
Our full TalkLeft coverage is here.

The Sunday Washington Post has an article called A Key Matchup comparing Eagle, Colorado Prosecutor Mark Hurlburt to Denver defense attorney Pamela Mackey who are on opposite sides of the Kobe Bryant case. We take issue with two items in the article:

Number One:

In a murder case last year, Hurlbert repeatedly reminded the jury that the defendant had lied to police about some elements of the case. He ended his oration with a ringing declaration: "You only lie when the truth will not set you free." The verdict: guilty.

In fact, the verdict was not guilty of the murder one charge sought by Hurlbert, who co-tried the case as a deputy DA with his then boss, Michael Goodbee. The conviction was on the lesser charge of murder two, murder committed during a crime of passion, a significant loss for the prosecution.

From the 3/21/02 Denver Post ( lexis.com):

The Kobe Bryant Colorado State Judicial Branch page is up here.

This information is being provided as a service to members of the media to relieve pressure on the courts. The added demands by the media placed upon the court and its personnel due to the intense interest created by the People v. Bryant case have necessitated the development of this reference website location. The court must continue to conduct its daily duties to serve the people of Colorado. Your cooperation in helping preserve the integrity of our daily routines is with minimal interruptions greatly appreciated.

Here is information on Judge Hart, and Judge Ruckriegle one of whom will preside over the trial. Here is information about Judge Gannett who will preside over the preliminary hearing.

Here is the order allowing cameras in the courtroom.

All case documents are here.

We have made our own Kobe case news page which contains links to news articles, media commentary, transcripts, case documents and such. You can access all of TalkLeft's Kobe coverage here. We will only be commenting on Kobe on TalkLeft when something is happening with the case. Otherwise, developments will be kept to the Kobe case news page.

We'd also like to refer Kobe watchers to two other blogs covering Kobe. The Southern California Law Blog and Kobe Watch.

The District Attorneys of three of Denver's largest metropolitan areas will pool resources to assist the smaller Eagle County DA's office in its prosecution of Kobe Bryant. The DA's of Denver, Jefferson and Boulder County will be contributing.

Ingrid Bakke, a Boulder County deputy district attorney and head of Boulder's sexual-assault and domestic-violence unit, will join Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert and his deputy, Gregory Crittenden, in prosecuting the NBA star.

Hurlbert has also enlisted help from district attorneys in Jefferson County, Denver and the state attorney general's office, said Denver DA Bill Ritter.

We have agreed - our office, the Jeffco office and the attorney general - to spread out the pre-trial work among our offices," Ritter said Tuesday. "We'll assist Eagle County DA's office in researching legal issues that surface during the course of this case and help write legal briefs in response to defense motions or in support of prosecution motions."

As we reported yesterday, Eagle County commissioners have awarded another $105,000. to the proseuctor's budget to help with prosecution costs.

How can they say Kobe Bryant isn't be treated differently than anyone else?

The Judge in the Kobe Bryant trial issued formal media guidelines today. They will apply for next week's hearing.

Reporters will be barred from using cell phones and tape recorders inside the courthouse; photographing witnesses, potential jurors, and Bryant's accuser and her family; and parking on court grounds. Those spaces will be reserved for people involved in the trial, according to District Judge Terry Ruckriegle's order.

The Colorado Judicial Branch is setting up a Kobe Byrant case page on the internet this week.

The page will have information on hearing schedules, motions rulings, biographies of judges and other details.

The Boulder DA's office has donated their chief crimes prosecutor, Ingrid Bakke, to the Eagle County DA's office for one year to work on the case. Ptikin County (in which Aspen is located) is also donating proseuctorial resources for the case.

Update: The Eagle County DA's office received another $105,000 to prosecute Kobe from the Eagle County Commissioners.

We have to admit, other than Hunter Thompson writing for ESPN, who we read religously, we've haven't had much exposure to sports writers. In fact, we've read more of them in the past two weeks than we have in our entire career. Many of them are really, really good.

Our favorite column this week, for reasons that will become clear in a minute, is Hammer Time, by ESPN's Ralph Wiley. His subject is the three women holding the hammer of God over Kobe Bryant: Kobe's wife Vanessa, his lawyer Pam Mackey and, of course, the accuser.

It's Vanessa's world now, God has seen to it, and has given her His Hammer, and that must be some kind of justice. She must've been sincere in her decisions all along. Now her in-laws not only have to back up off her, they have to respect her more than they ever did. This may not lead to a demeanor change on her part, but it could. Just as a joke, to lighten the mood, at one of Kobe's household requests, she could whirl around and say, "What? What did you just say? I know you didn't say that to me. Did you?" Kobe is riding in the whipped cur car, no doubt.

....Hammer No. 2 belongs to Pamela Mackey, Kobe's Colorado lawyer. This is real justice on your ass, you see. At the press conference at the Staples Center, Mackey was already putting on the full-court press, and she didn't look like she was lacking for things to say. She said she doubted there was enough there to even file charges, implying that there was some ulterior motive, no doubt relying on that missing chunk in the timeline between the act itself, and the reporting of the act to authorities. ....

You think what I'm saying is bad? Wait till you hear Pamela Mackey's dulcet tones. This woman is quite persuasive. She is going to make Johnnie Cochran seem like Stuttering John. I wouldn't want to be in her way if I were the Sheriff or the D.A., Woody Harrelson Hurlbert.

Then, he adds a comment from his friend "Superfine:"

My lawyer friend Superfine in L.A. said to me, "I have a very close girlfriend who is a gorgeous black woman kick-ass lawyer in Denver who is killing herself that she did not get the case. She has won tons of sexual assault cases, many in Eagle County; it would have been totally hot if she and I could've handled the case together." But even she said that Mackey was an outstanding lawyer. Hal Haddon, HST's old mouthpiece, may be lead counsel, but it will be Mackey's rep that gets blown up. She's the one on the legal team with the Hammer; she evens all cards. (emphasis supplied)

Superfine is right. She's talking about Lisa Monet Wayne....Lisa and I have practiced in the same office since shortly after she left the Public Defender's Office four years ago. Lisa spent a total of 13 years at the PD's office in Denver, and when she left she was their chief trial deputy. No one can pick a jury or scrutinize forensic evidence like Lisa. Her forte is sexual assault cases. And, she's black, gorgeous and kick-ass. Not to mention, good friends with Pamela Mackey and totally supportive of Pam. As are we all here in the Denver defense community.

The county court Judge presiding over the Kobe Bryant case will allow cameras in the courtroom for the August 6, Kobe Bryant hearing.

True, it's a very small courthouse and the individual courtrooms are small. But our position is that cameras should be allowed only if the defendant consents. It's the defendant who has a constitional right to a fair trial. The Bill of Rights was designed to protect the rights of the citizen accused. We don't know if Kobe's lawyers agreed.

For this hearing, it's not a big deal. The accuser does not need to be present. The hearing will be short, maybe 10 minutes or less. It is simply to advise Kobe of the charges against him and his rights, both of which his attorneys have already explained to him, and to set a date for the preliminary hearing.

A gag order has been issued in the Kobe Bryant case. It covers the attorneys, witnesses, law enforcement officers, court staff, the accuser and Bryant.

MSNBC's Keith Olberman is reporting that the University of Northern Colorado has confirmed that the accuser was hospitalized in February due to her being a danger to herself. The Washington Post follows up here.

We will be on Hannity and Colmes tonight discussing Kobe Bryant around 9:30 to 9:40 PM or so EST. (always subject to cancellation for breaking news.) We'll be debating the issue of whether the accuser's name in a rape case should be kept secret, and whether the radio talk show host was right or wrong to publish her name on the Internet.

Update: OnLine Journalism Review has just posted a thoughtful article by Mark Glaser on this issue, and the Releasing Name of Bryant's Accuser Stirs Debate on Online Standards .

TalkLeft has been receiving over 10,000 visitors a day for the past several days. There are 222 people on the site right now. Many are coming from search engines looking for Kobe Bryant coverage. Here is a link to all of our Kobe Bryant coverage in one place.

For those of you not interested in Kobe's case, rest assured, we are continuing our coverage of other political and crime-related stories as well.

Update: July 24, the traffic is decreasing somewhat, although it's still above normal. We've created a link near the top right of TalkLeft where you can access all of our Kobe coverage without having to type the name in the search box. We'll probably also add a Kobe news feed over the weekend so we don't have to keep reporting here on each new item.

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NBC is reporting that the 19 year old who accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault was in good spirits and bragged about Kobe's size three days after the incident.

The media is trying to unseal the reports that led to Kobe Bryant's arrest on a sexual assault charge. The defense has filed a 23 page brief in opposition, saying disclosure will jeopardize Kobe's right to a fair trial. The District Attorney agrees and will be filing his brief later today.

We think the documents should remained sealed until they are introduced at a court hearing. These are one sided documents that are not evidence in the case. They may contain hearsay. They outline the information that caused police to believe Kobe may have committed a sexual assault--and they may or may not be accurate. But the potential for prejudice to Kobe is huge.

Trials take place in public. Criminal investigations should not.