The New York Times reports on the toll the Kobe Bryant case is taking on Judge Terry Ruckriegle.

...its burdens have taken a toll on the judge, say acquaintances and lawyers who have worked in his courtroom over the years. Usually by this point in the summer, they say, the 56-year-old judge - an avid biker, hiker, camper and hunter in the mountains around his home in Breckenridge - would be at his lean and tan fittest. This summer, they say, he has been a shadow, often seen working at his office late at night and on weekends, or commuting to the courthouse in Eagle, 90 minutes away, where the Bryant case has unfolded.

"I haven't seen him on his bicycle once all summer, and he is as pale as I've ever seen him," said Dave Drawbert, a friend and local lawyer in Breckenridge. "I told him this case wouldn't be good for his health or his family, but his sense of duty prevailed."

But what a difference a day makes.

Thanks to Skippy and Richard Cranium of the All Spin Zone for supporting and asking their readers to contribute a few dollars towards our trip to NY to blog live during the RNC. Especially Skippy, because he hates it when bloggers seek donations. Today he writes:

good luck and god speed to our buddy talkleft, who has bought a plane ticket to go blog the repubbb national convention! we fear for her safety. not only will she be a liberal in the midst of thousands of gopers, she's also a defense lawyer! take some mace, talkleft! or at least some garlic and a copy of al franken's book! (just kidding! she will be not actually at the convention, but at a nearby performance space with live tv coverage. though if that's the case, we wonder why she can't just stay home, tune into c-span, and pretend to be there, saving the money. who would know?)

readers of this space know how we feel about bloggers and paypal. but we wouldn't kick your dog if you sent talkleft a little scratch to defray the costs of a ny vacation.

My response, which I posted in the comments to his blog:

The trial judge in the Kobe Bryant case denied the prosecution's request for a trial delay today. Jury selection is set to begin August 27. He also denied a defense request to admit evidence of the accuser's alleged suicide attempts and alcohol, drug and medication usage--or her mental health issues.

The timing is curious. The prosecution requests a trial delay based in part on the fact that the Judge hadn't ruled on the defense request to admit the mental health and medication evidence, saying it needed more time to prepare for trial if this evidence was going to come in. The Judge was able to refute the prosecution's need for a delay by ruling the evidence couldn't come in.

The prosecution's request was a bogus one. It didn't need more time to prepare its case if this evidence came in. It would have come in through defense witnesses after the prosecution rested. The prosecution is well aware of the defense witnesses on the topic and should have been prepared to cross-examine them at trial. Or to have its own experts ready in rebuttal.

Also, the prosecution made a lame argument that releasing the one-sided transripts of the accuser's alleged post-Kobe but pre-rape exam sexual activity prejudiced its case. What the district attorney avoids mentioning is that at that hearing, it had the opportunity to cross-examine the defense expert on the issue--and chose not to--despite having two of its own experts present in the courtroom (pdf). So the reason the transcript was one-sided is because that is the strategic choice made by the prosecution.

Yesterday I asked TalkLeft's readers whether I should go to New York and blog live during the Republican convention . The responses left in the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of going. So, it's a done deal. And I am psyched. I had the best time in Boston I have had anywhere in years. Being surrounded by exuberant, self-defined and self-assured kids who so graciously accepted me into their fold. I was in heaven.

The plane ticket has been purchased. Blogger status and wi-fi at The Tankthe performance art space near the Garden that has graciously agreed to host progressive bloggers and provide wi-fi and internet access and where the RNC events will be displayed live on a big screen--has been arranged for. It will also serve as a clearing house for protest activities.

The real story for TalkLeft will be the action in the streets--the protesters, the security, the riot police and their attitudes. I'll have my digital camera, tape recorder , ipod and laptop. I have recruited two volunteers so far to capture the images on the streets, so TalkLeft can upload and bring them to you as they are happening.

Do I need help to do this? Yes, it's not cheap to spend a week in New York City--and it means losing another week at work. But, it will cost less than Boston, mainly because being a Native New Yorker and still frequent visitor, I know my way around. If you're in a position to assist, you can do so here via PayPal. If you'd like to donate anonymously, use Amazon. Both are secure. Many, many thanks.

If you need further convincing, read on:

A great space has been made available for progressive bloggers to blog the Republican Convention live from New York. I had intended to pass. Now I'm having second thoughts. Covering the convention, the protests, the security measures and the extent to which New York is accomodating the Bush Administration vs. the protesters, is becoming an irresistable draw.

Add to the equation that the TL Kid is in New York and that he has offered to volunteer his computer skills and services to the blogging space and bloggers--I'm seriously thinking of joining the group.

Let me know what you think. Can TalkLeft can provide more valuable or insightful coverage blogging from Colorado while watching the mainstream media coverage on cable news? It certainly would be less taxing, both in dollars and physical exertion. Or should it jump into the fray and take a stab at covering that which the mainstream media may just gloss over?

Update: The accuser's lawyer sought advice on filing a civil suit over a year ago--from former NY sex crimes prosecutor Linda Fairstein:

But a civil action has also apparently been contemplated for much longer than only a few days. One of the woman's lawyers, John C. Clune, who filed the civil suit, called a prominent former sex crimes prosecutor, Linda Fairstein, more than a year ago to solicit her advice about a possible civil case, Ms. Fairstein said in an interview today.

Ms. Fairstein, who led the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office for 26 years, said that Mr. Clune had not asked that their conversation be kept confidential. But she said that she had not publicly discussed her two conversations with Mr. Clune in July 2003 until a reporter contacted her this afternoon seeking her views on the lawsuit. Mr. Clune did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

*************
Original post:

Kobe Bryant's accuser had made good on her intentions and filed a civil suit for compensatory and punitive damages against him in federal court. In the lawsuit, she describes the encounter with Kobe as a rape, similarly to the way the prosecution in the criminal case does.

What does the filing of the civil suit mean? For one, it's more fodder for Kobe's lawyers on cross-examination of the accuser--now there is no question she is after big bucks. It may make the criminal case less likely to go forward. It gives the prosecution an out--they may say her reluctance to continue to participate in the criminal case combined with her filing a suit for money reduces the chances of a conviction. Well, the chances were only borderline before, so who can blame them if they bail?

Kobe Bryant's accuser wants the gag order lifted on her lawyers. The lawyers argue the gag order prevents them from criticizing the court for mistakenly releasing her name and a transcript in which a defense expert testified she believed the accuser had sex in the 13 hour period between her encounter with Kobe and her rape exam.

The lawyers really want to tell her story--not just criticize the court. With the trial being so close, the gag order is appropriate. The accuser is the complaining witness. Her story should be told in the courtroom, not on television. If Kobe's lawyers can abide by the gag order, and they have, scrupulously so, the accuser should be held to the same standard. The Prosecution speaks for the accuser in their pleadings. How many mouthpieces does she need?

By statute, the accuser has the right to be treated with fairness. But Kobe's constitutional right to a fair trial is paramount. Her lawyers' motion is replete with references to Kobe as the "rapist" and the accuser as the "victim." She's an alleged victim. He's a defendant, not a rapist, and he's presumed innocent. Her lawyers are grandstanding to prejudice the jury pool. Their request should be denied.

In other Kobe news today, the Judge has rejected a request by the accuser's lawyers that the Court cease posting documents online at the court's web site. Another correct ruling.

The Judge presiding over the Oklahoma state trial of Terry Nichols sentenced him today to 161 terms of life without parole, to be served consecutively. The jury had rejected the death penalty for him.

Nichols spoke at his sentencing, but if anyone was expecting he would answer lingering questions about involvement of others in the bombing, it was not to be. Nichols apologized and told everyone to believe in God.

Nichols' lawyers are encouraging him not to appeal. If he were to be retried, the death penalty could be on the table again. So, it looks like the OKC bombing cases finally have come to an end. That's good. The families of the victims have closure and can now move on.

My view: The state trial was an unnecessary waste of resources. Nichols was already serving life without parole on his federal conviction of conspiracy to kill the 8 federal workers who died in the blast. He will now return to the maximum security wing at Florence, Colorado to serve out the rest of his sentence. Gain to the state and people of Oklahoma by virtue of this trial: none.

Update: Here is the text of Terry Nichols' statement at sentencing today.

If you thought security was onerous at the Democratic convention in Boston, security in New York sounds like it will be a nightmare. Any thoughts we had of blogging the protests live from New York have evaporated. While authorities should be able to prevent a severe attack, the security hassles just aren't worth the aggravation attendant to being there. There likely will be more freedom of movement in Beirut. The San Francisco Chronicle reports:

New York on High Alert for GOP Enclave

"

At the end of August, more than 5,000 New York City police officers, many of them armed with rifles and leading bomb-sniffing dogs, will flood New York's subway system, commuter trains and Penn Station, the nation's busiest train terminal, which lies just below the convention center.

Another 5,000 officers will patrol New York streets, the giant round arena of the Madison Square Garden convention site, city bridges, tunnels, hotels, landmarks and the sites of protests that are scheduled to be staged all over Manhattan....Some of these officers will carry hand-held radiation detectors. Others will be screening cars randomly for explosive devices.....Swaths of major thoroughfares in midtown Manhattan, including Seventh and Eighth avenues, will be closed to traffic for hours at a time....

Madison Square Garden will be surrounded by concrete walls and 6-foot- tall metal mesh barriers. Delivery trucks and some 200 buses that will shuttle delegates and reporters to the site will stop between two metal walls, where video cameras will inspect their undercarriages for bombs. People entering the site will have to go through metal detectors and leave behind even unlikely potential weapons like hairspray, bottled water and umbrellas, which "could be used in an improper manner inside the convention."

"

Besides, we'd rather save our money to go to the October 1 Vote for Change Concert in Philadelphia. If anyone can help us out with tickets, we'd be very, very grateful.

Lawyers for Kobe Bryant's accusers Wednesday said she is re-evaluating whether she wants to continue to participate in the criminal proceeding against him. They said she may rather bring a civil suit against him.

One of the accuser's attorneys, Atlanta civil attorney Lin Wood said, "I'm of the mind that she's only going to be treated fairly in a civil case, where the playing field is level and Mr. Bryant's life will be scrutinized." Wood joined the case several weeks ago. According to legal experts, his hiring by the accuser's family indicates more emphasis is being spent on the civil portion of the case.

Legal analysts aren't surprised. The case against Kobe has been going downhill for some time. With the release of a pre-trial hearing transcript containing testimony by a defense expert that she believes the accuser had sex after the encounter with Kobe and before she arrived at the hospitial for her rape exam, a conviction will be hard to obtain.

But the same credibility problems that have plagued the accuser in the criminal case will follow her into the civil case. Unless a settlement is agreed upon, I don't see a civil case coming out in her favor. This sounds like a last-ditch attempt at a graceful exit strategy.

The Judge in the Kobe Bryant case released all but 68 lines of the 200 pages of sealed hearing transcripts from the rape-shield hearing. The transcripts address the accuser's sexual history and were mistakenly mailed to media outlets.

The Judge later ruled that evidence of her sexual activity within 72 hours of the time she arrived at the hospital for her rape exam, is relevant and admissible.

Ruckriegle late last month said the defense can present evidence about the woman's sexual activities in the three days before a July 1, 2003, hospital exam, saying it is relevant to help determine the cause of her injuries, the source of DNA evidence and her credibility.

Thus, by order of the Colorado Supreme Court, he had to make available the transcripts, striking only parts that pertained to information he ruled inadmissible. Here's one exchange that took place:

"If in fact you were to rule that all of the rape-shield evidence were going to come in in this case, I'm thinking the prosecution is going to sit down and re-evaluate the quality of its case and its chances of a successful prosecution," Prosecutor Ingrid Bakke told the judge.

Another section of the transcript contains:

....detailed comments from a defense expert who says she believes Bryant's accuser had sex with someone else after her encounter with the NBA star and before she went to police, a claim that has been vehemently denied by the woman's attorney.....Johnson, however, said the woman told police she showered the morning of June 30 and put on clean purple underwear. But she said her laboratory and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation both found genetic material matching Bryant and a man identified as "Mr. X" on that garment.

Via Law Prof Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy: The 4th Circuit En Banc today has refused to invalidate the federal sentencing guidelines. The order states:

According to the vote of a majority of the en banc court constituted to hear this appeal, we affirm the judgment and hold that Blakely v. Washington, does not operate to invalidate Hammoud's sentence under the federal sentencing guidelines. Therefore, district courts within the Fourth Circuit are hereby instructed to continue sentencing defendants in accordance with the guidelines, as was the practice before Blakely. In the interest of judicial economy, however, we recommend that district court within the Fourth Circuit also announce, at the time of sentencing, a sentence pursuant to 18 USC 3553(a), treating the guidelines as advisory only. Majority and dissenting opinions will follow in due course.