While it hasn't made the national news, local news has been following the murder trial in Eagle of a prominent fur store owner charged with killing her former lover. It was a sordid trial filled with sex, drugs, domestic violence and infidelity. The jury took two hours to acquit Kathleen Denson of all charges.

The wealthy owner of Aspen and Vail fur shops was acquitted Monday evening of murder in the slaying of an ex-boyfriend during the disintegration of a stormy love triangle.

Kathleen Denson, 46, admitted killing Gerald "Cody" Boyd at her Draggin'-A quarter horse ranch last summer, but said the shooting with an antique black- powder handgun was in self-defense from a cocaine-crazed, self-proclaimed hit man.

The trial lasted about two weeks.

The case seemed the stuff of sensational fiction, replete with tales of greed, jealousy, and rage; investigators told of drug-and-booze binges and found video and photos of Denson and Boyd engaged in sexual acts.

And it even featured a little courtroom drama when Deputy District Attorney Greg Crittenden collapsed from exhaustion just before closing arguments, originally scheduled for Friday.

Greg Crittenden reportedly will be a chief prosecutor in the Kobe Bryant case.

Bump and Update: Judge Fred Gannett in Eagle, Colorado makes the right decision. Here is the text of his order. The search warrants, affidavits and the affidavit for the arrest warrant will stay sealed at least until Kobe is acquitted, convicted or the case is dismissed. Even thereafter, Kobe can move to keep them sealed. Disclosure of the documents now would be contrary to the public interest and would be unduly prejudicial to Kobe's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

The best part of the Order is the last full paragraph on page 12. We highly recommend reading it.

Other documents that do not contain factual information about the case will be released. This includes the arrest warrant (again, not the affidavit which contains the reasons for the arrest warrant), the bond and appearance documents, the request for non-testimonial identification evidence (which Kobe complied with and which also are devoid of facts) and the like. Even the affidavit for the request for non-testimonial identificiation evidence stays sealed.

We don't understand why the media is playing this up like the Judge ruled for them. Clearly, he ruled for Kobe and his right to a fair trial.

Update: Some better reporting in the morning editions of the papers here and here. This AP story is good.

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The Judge in the Kobe Bryant case says his office is typing up his decision on unsealing arrest-related documents in the Kobe Bryant case this afternoon. His decision will be released late today or tomorrow.

The decision will be available here.

In other Kobe related news, a 22 year old from Iowa has been arrested and indicted by a Colorado federal grand jury for making threatening to kill Kobe's accuser.

There's several new articles in the Kobe Bryant case-- we've accumulated them on our separate Kobe Bryant Case Coverage page.

It strikes us as curious that members of the public believe they have the right to have their opinions heard by the Judge in the case. Letters are pouring into him. It strenghtens our view that televising trials leads the public to believe they are participants in the case --as if the trial is some sort of reality tv programming on which they get to vote.

It's doubtful the judge even reads the letters. They are part of the file, and many will be picked up on by the media which will choose to print the most titillating of them. The letters are amusing, but that's all, unless Kobe's lawyers can make a case based on the volume or slant of the letters that the prejudicial pre-trial publicity is so great and peoples' minds are so set that he cannot get a fair trial anywhere at this time, warranting a long abatement of the trial. That's a real longshot, at least for now.

California defense attorney Barry Tarlow, whom we consider to be one of the deans of criminal defense, has written an op-ed in Sunday's Los Angeles Times titled Rape Suspects' Uphill Road. Using the Kobe Bryant case as an illustration, Tarlow explains why rape defendants are at an unfair disadvantage due to public policy considerations that have resulted in rape shield laws:

We are about to witness the imbalance of these rules in the case of Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant in Eagle, Colo. Colorado has a stringent rape shield law. Evidence about an alleged victim's reputation or sexual conduct with others is presumed to be "irrelevant," and the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that this "generally renders a victim's sexual history inadmissible."

....For Bryant, who has been charged with sexual assault, this is likely to mean that much of his intimate sexual history will now become "fair game." Like our country's last president, Bryant has made a humiliating public admission that he committed adultery. The prosecution's task, however, is not to prove that sexual contact occurred, but that it occurred without the alleged victim's consent.

....Although the defense might also be interested in investigating whether the alleged victim has previously engaged in similar sexual behavior, it would have an uphill battle to get such evidence in front of the jury. The same goes for evidence of sexual aggressiveness. Any evidence of it in his past may be admissible; in hers, that's not likely.

Joanna Spilbor, guest columnist at Findlaw, examines false reporting in rape cases and asks what happens if Kobe Bryant is falsely accused:

Spilbor argues that Colorado's and other states' decision to make false reports mere misdemeanors, with light penalties, is unfair to the accused. She also suggests several legal changes that would help deter false claims -- including allowing juries to find an accuser "Not Credible."

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This is the real news coming out of the Kobe Bryant hearing yesterday. The Pitkin County Sheriff's Office (which includes Aspen) will investigate alleged law enforcement leaks in the case. Bob Braudis, long-time sheriff of Pitkin county, is an honest and beloved sheriff. He's our favorite sheriff in America. Even our clients love Bob Braudis. He's honest and fair and runs a top-notch office. There won't be a whitewash here.

The DA's office, defense lawyers and the Judge all agreed on Braudis's office. That should tell you something about his reputation. Also, the Judge was a deputy sheriff in Pitkin before rising to the bench.

We think the Judge did an excellent job yesterday. He didn't insist on reading the charge aloud to Kobe. He allowed Kobe's lawyer to waive that formality, which meant Kobe was treated the same as everyone else. Had he done otherwise, the scene would have become the equivalent of the perp walk of the new century, played over and over again on television, until everyone's memory was indelibly inscribed with the image of Kobe and the charge of sexual assault. Charges are accusations only, not evidence, but who would remember that after seeing that segment of the hearing replayed hundreds of times.

Back to the leaking of case details, which the Judge addressed both during the hearing and in an interview after the hearing.

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.