kobe


District attorneys offices from across Colorado are stepping up to lend a hand in prosecuting Kobe Bryant.
Ingrid Bakke, head of Boulder's domestic violence and sexual assault unit and a Boulder County deputy district attorney, will join District Attorney Mark Hurlbert and Deputy District Attorney Greg Crittenden in prosecuting the high-profile case.
"She's a highly skilled prosecutor and she'll be a benefit to the team," said district attorney spokeswoman Krista Flannigan.
In addition, Hurlbert accepted an offer from the Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter to use the Denver office's appellate division to help Hurlbert and his staff deal with the expected avalanche of pretrial motions.
Offers of help from the Jefferson County district attorney and the state Attorney General's Office have also been gladly accepted, Flannigan said.
Ritter said the Denver, Jefferson County and attorney general's offices will help Hurlbert keep up with the pretrial workload. Ritter said his Denver office will specifically assist with legal research and writing legal briefs opposing defense motions or supporting prosecution motions.
Those offers of help come on the heels of an offer from Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis to help Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy and his staff.
And in the real costs, money, the Eagle County commissioners this week offered an additional $105,000. The offer is pending the District Attorney's Office submitting a detailed budget outlining how the extra money would be spent. Other counties in the 5th Judicial District will also be asked for additional funding.
"It will be a big help," said Flannigan, whom Hurlbert brought on board to handle the media onslaught associated with the case.
Flannigan said offers of help are fairly common in cases of this size.
"When you have something that will overwhelm the resources of any particular district attorney's office, colleagues from other offices will step up to help," she said.
Bryant surrendered to Eagle County authorities July 4, after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting a 19-year-old Eagle woman June 30 at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera.
On July 18, Hurlbert officially charged Bryant with one count of felony sexual assault, a Class 3 felony. If convicted, Bryant would face between 20 years of probation and life in prison.
Camera ruling surprises DA
Kobe Bryant's defense attorneys said in a motion filed this week that they were surprised by a judge's ruling last Friday to allow cameras in the courtroom.
Apparently, they weren't alone.
Sources said Wednesday that District Attorney Mark Hurlbert was taking a quick break Friday night to relax a little and watch some sports on television, and that's how he got the news.
"We didn't know there would be a ruling, but that's not unusual," said district attorney spokeswoman Krista Flannigan, who added that Eagle County Judge Fred Gannett's ruling didn't change anything for the prosecution. "We weren't informed ahead of time that there would be a ruling, and we didn't anticipate that we would be," she said.
Bryant's attorneys, Harold Haddon and Pamela Mackey, filed a motion Tuesday asking for a hearing on expanded media coverage (cameras in the courtroom) before any more decisions are made. They also asked Judge Fred Gannett to reconsider his Friday ruling allowing one video camera and one still camera during Thursday's hearing to unseal the criminal investigation file.
They also don't want cameras in the courtroom for Bryant's Aug. 6 arraignment appearance. There were cameras in the courtroom for Thursday's debate on whether to unseal the criminal investigation file.
In his motion, Haddon wrote that Gannett's approval was granted while Bryant's attorneys were still preparing a response in opposition to the two requests. He wrote that Bryant opposes the requests and objects to the order granting them.
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