Posted on Mon, Sep. 08, 2003

Cameras banned for Kobe's court hearing
JON SARCHE
Associated Press

EAGLE, Colo. - Cameras will be banned from the courtroom during the
preliminary hearing in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case, a judge said
Monday.

Court rules specifically prohibit cameras at pretrial hearings in criminal
cases except for initial advisements and arraignments, Eagle County Judge
Frederick Gannett said in a one-page decision.

Court TV, The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News had requested
permission for cameras in the courtroom during the Oct. 9 hearing.

Bryant, 25, is charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman June
30 in his suite at a mountain resort where she worked and he was a guest.

The Los Angeles Lakers star, who is free on $25,000 bond, is scheduled to
return to Eagle for the hearing, where Gannett will determine whether
there is enough evidence to hold Bryant for trial.

Gannett allowed cameras during Bryant's initial appearance last month, a
seven-minute hearing where his attorneys waived his right to be formally
advised of the felony sexual assault charge against him.