Bryant to appear in Colorado court this week in sexual assault case

Bryant to appear in Colorado court this week in sexual assault case
AP Photos DXX101,102
By JON SARCHE
Associated Press Writer
DENVER (AP) -- Denied the chance to question his accuser behind closed doors, Kobe Bryant and his attorneys return to court this week, where most legal analysts expect them to waive his preliminary hearing in favor of a trial.
Bryant's attorneys could ask for the waiver any time before the hearing set for Thursday in Eagle. The Los Angeles Lakers' All-Star, free on $25,000 bond, still must appear for a bond hearing.
Bryant, 25, is accused of raping the 19-year-old woman June 30 at a mountain resort near Eagle where he was staying and she worked. He has said the two had consensual sex.
Bryant's attorneys repeatedly have declined comment on the case.
Legal analysts have said it is likely that Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett will order the case to go to trial even if defense lawyers contest it on Thursday. Prosecutors usually only have to present a bare-bones case in preliminary hearings.
If Bryant's attorneys waive the hearing, a district judge could take Gannett's seat and proceed immediately with Bryant's initial appearance in that court, former prosecutor David Lugert said.
"It moves things along, you don't get facts of the preliminary (hearing) out, and he doesn't have to come back in 30 days," said Lugert, a defense attorney in Eagle.
The defense attorneys lost two key requests last week when Gannett refused to require the woman who accused Bryant of rape to testify at the hearing and refused to close the proceeding to the public. Gannett, however, said he would close portions of the hearing if the attorneys convince him it would jeopardize Bryant's right to a fair trial.
Gannett also said in last Thursday's order that there appeared to be enough other evidence that the accuser's testimony would be unnecessary.
Without her testimony, prosecutors plan to call the key investigator on the case and introduce photographs of the woman's injuries.