| Defense attorneys have subpoenaed medical records of the woman who has accused Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant of rape, apparently for details about when she was hospitalized in February after police determined she was "a danger to herself."
But attorneys for a clinic in Greeley, Colorado, where the young woman was a student, said in a court filing she has not waived her right to keep her medical records confidential, and, consequently, they consider that the records were sent to the judge in error and therefore should be destroyed.
The medical records are "indisputably privileged" under Colorado law, attorneys for the North Colorado Medical Center and the North Colorado PsychCare/Family Recovery Center said in a filing late on Friday.
"Obviously, the defense is interested in a situation which resulted in a 72-hour mental health holding," former Denver chief deputy prosecutor Denver Craig Silverman said on Tuesday.
"Campus police responded to her dorm room in February and took her into custody. She was transported by ambulance to the hospital," University of Northern Colorado spokeswoman Gloria Reynolds said in response to questions.
The university, where the young woman is no longer a student, has never said the woman attempted suicide, although police decided to take her to the hospital because they believed she "was a danger to herself," Reynolds said.
Bryant, 25, has denied raping the woman, who worked as a concierge at a posh Colorado resort where he was staying in late June. He said the encounter was consensual and his only wrongdoing was adultery.
"The task for the defense is to answer why this woman would make up an allegation. The medical records may provide a reason or create a reasonable doubt," Silverman said.
Typically, a hospital notifies its attorney when it receives a subpoena requesting medical records, but in this case the clinic sent the records along to the judge and the attorneys did not find out until two days later.
Silverman said while it will be a fight for the defense to see the February medical records, they would have a right to see hospital records related to any bodily samples she gave after accusing Bryant of rape.
Separately, a 22-year-old Iowa man pleaded innocent on Tuesday to making a threat over the telephone to kill the woman.
John William Roche, who shook nervously during his arraignment in federal court in Denver, was ordered by Magistrate Judge Patricia Coan to undergo evaluation for substance abuse and not to consume alcohol.
According to news reports last week, a friend of Roche said Roche had been playing golf and drinking for several hours before leaving the threatening message on an answering machine at the woman's home in Eagle, Colorado.
The Bryant case has been the subject of media interest and the woman has been vilified in some circles. She has been identified on the Internet, but not by mainstream media.
Bryant is scheduled to appear in court in Eagle, Colorado for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 9 that will determine if he must stand trial. (Additional reporting by Robert Boczkiewicz)
Source: Reuters | |
