Trial date could be determined this week

He was scheduled to return to Colorado today for a three-day hearing.
EAGLE, Colo. (AP) -- Closed hearings in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case could finally give way this week to open-court arguments on a key issue: a trial date.
A lawyer for Bryant's 19-year-old accuser asked the judge last month to quickly schedule a trial so she could have an idea of when she can move on with her life. The request was accompanied by a letter from the woman's mother, who said her daughter lives on the run from the media and is the target of death threats.
Agenda
Bryant was to return to Colorado today for a three-day hearing, and at least one day -- Wednesday -- is expected to be open, with arguments scheduled on how quickly a trial date might be set.
State District Judge Terry Ruckriegle indicated he wanted to finish closed-door hearings by Tuesday on issues that could have significant effects on the outcome of the case: Whether the jury will hear details about the accuser's sexual activities and whether some evidence, including Bryant's statement to authorities and a T-shirt stained with the accuser's blood, should be thrown out.
Bryant's court appearance comes as his team is in the middle of a playoff series with the Houston Rockets. Game 5 is scheduled for Wednesday at Los Angeles.
The 25-year-old Bryant has said he had consensual sex with the woman last June at the Vail-area resort where she worked. If convicted of felony sexual assault, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.
Records off limits
The judge last week handed the prosecution a victory by barring defense access to the woman's medical records, though experts say witnesses will likely be called to discuss purported suicide attempts and anti-depressants used by the woman.
Bryant's attorneys have suggested the woman had multiple sexual partners in the days before and hours after her encounter with Bryant. They say that could explain injuries found on her during a hospital examination.
Several witnesses, including friends and a former boyfriend, have testified privately in previous hearings about the woman's consensual sexual activities.
It was understandable for the alleged victim to ask the judge to speed the case after she was questioned for more than three hours last month on her sexual past, said Scott Robinson, a defense attorney familiar with the case.
But he said filings by prosecutors and the defense saying they also want a quick resolution amounted to public "chest-pounding" that had little or no legal value.
"I think it's in some ways one of the sadder sidelights of the case," he said. "It reflects a sense of helplessness [from the alleged victim]."
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