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CNN Live At Daybreak

Judge Will Unseal Some Court Documents in Bryant Case

Aired August 22, 2003 - 06:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Kobe Bryant case don't much like this move. The judge will unseal some court documents.
To Eagle, Colorado now and CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the 16 page order that the judge has released. And, indeed, he has decided to unseal some of the files in the Kobe Bryant case while leaving other files sealed.

Now, from a legal standpoint, this looks like a partial victory for the news media attorneys who wanted the files unsealed and also a partial victory for prosecutors and defense attorneys, who wanted the files to stay sealed.

But realistically, this is an overwhelming defeat for the news media attorneys. The judge in this case held a hearing on July 31 to discuss this issue and what the judge has decided to do, the main document he wants released is an arrest warrant. But the arrest warrant contains information that we already know and we've already told you, information like what the crime is that Kobe Bryant is accused of, what his bail is and when the arrest occurred and very little other information.

The main information is on arrest warrant affidavits. And that information, those files the judge has ruled should remain sealed. And that includes information about the alleged crime. So that will remain sealed.

Now, news media attorneys tell us they are "very disappointed" about this. They say this is public information that should be released. They are saying they are considering whether to appeal or not. They're consulting with their clients, which include CNN.

We can tell you what has been released won't be in our hands for at least 10 days. The judge says he wants to give all sides 10 days, a chance to appeal, before those documents are released.

We do want to tell you we should learn information about seven weeks from now. That's when the preliminary hearing in this case will be held, October 9. That's when the prosecution has to lay out some of its strongest evidence to determine if there is probable cause for this case to go to trial.

One other piece of information, we want to tell you some disturbing news. A 22-year-old Iowa man has been arrested, charged with threatening the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case. His name is John William Roche. Authorities at the FBI tell us that he phoned the woman here in Eagle, Colorado, the alleged victim, and said that he wanted to kill her and maim her.

He will be arraigned in federal court in Iowa. He faces the possibility of up to five years in prison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That's Gary Tuchman reporting.

This is a picture of the man he was just talking about, John Roche. He will face a federal judge in Davenport, Iowa this morning. We'll keep you posted.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired August 22, 2003 - 06:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Kobe Bryant case don't much like this move. The judge will unseal some court documents.
To Eagle, Colorado now and CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the 16 page order that the judge has released. And, indeed, he has decided to unseal some of the files in the Kobe Bryant case while leaving other files sealed.

Now, from a legal standpoint, this looks like a partial victory for the news media attorneys who wanted the files unsealed and also a partial victory for prosecutors and defense attorneys, who wanted the files to stay sealed.

But realistically, this is an overwhelming defeat for the news media attorneys. The judge in this case held a hearing on July 31 to discuss this issue and what the judge has decided to do, the main document he wants released is an arrest warrant. But the arrest warrant contains information that we already know and we've already told you, information like what the crime is that Kobe Bryant is accused of, what his bail is and when the arrest occurred and very little other information.

The main information is on arrest warrant affidavits. And that information, those files the judge has ruled should remain sealed. And that includes information about the alleged crime. So that will remain sealed.

Now, news media attorneys tell us they are "very disappointed" about this. They say this is public information that should be released. They are saying they are considering whether to appeal or not. They're consulting with their clients, which include CNN.

We can tell you what has been released won't be in our hands for at least 10 days. The judge says he wants to give all sides 10 days, a chance to appeal, before those documents are released.

We do want to tell you we should learn information about seven weeks from now. That's when the preliminary hearing in this case will be held, October 9. That's when the prosecution has to lay out some of its strongest evidence to determine if there is probable cause for this case to go to trial.

One other piece of information, we want to tell you some disturbing news. A 22-year-old Iowa man has been arrested, charged with threatening the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case. His name is John William Roche. Authorities at the FBI tell us that he phoned the woman here in Eagle, Colorado, the alleged victim, and said that he wanted to kill her and maim her.

He will be arraigned in federal court in Iowa. He faces the possibility of up to five years in prison.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That's Gary Tuchman reporting.

This is a picture of the man he was just talking about, John Roche. He will face a federal judge in Davenport, Iowa this morning. We'll keep you posted.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com