Apparently Kate Faber may be getting cold feet about a criminal trial....Filing a civil suit would allow her to drop the criminal trial, thus virtually sparing Kobe jail time.
Another note about this......... with a civil suit, Kate Faber is no longer protected by the rape sheild law.
Thus, all evidence of her past, as well as her identity, will become public.
So look for all sorts of gory details to spill out into the media soon after regarding this case and Kate Faber.
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Lawyers ask for $75K in compensatory damages
Kobe accuser's lawyers launch attack vs. judge
Attorneys for the woman ...
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Associated Press
DENVER -- The 20-year-old woman accusing Kobe Bryant of rape filed a federal civil lawsuit against the NBA star Tuesday, seeking unspecified damages for pain, suffering and "public scorn, hatred and ridicule."
The attorneys asked for a jury trial and compensatory damages of at least $75,000, with punitive damages to be determined later.
With the filing, the woman's attorneys backed up a threat they made a week ago. A criminal case requires a higher standard of proof to convict -- beyond a reasonable doubt -- and punishment can involve prison time. A civil case has a lower standard of proof -- a preponderance of evidence -- and punishment is usually a monetary award.
Bryant 25, has pleaded not guilty to felony sexual assault. He has said had consensual sex with the woman, then 19, at the Vail-area resort where she worked last summer. The Los Angeles Lakers star faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine of up to $750,000 if convicted. Jury selection begins Aug. 27.
Bryant's defense attorney, Pamela Mackey, did not immediately return a message seeking comment and neither did the woman's attorneys, John Clune and L. Lin Wood. All attorneys in the case were reminded by the judge last week that a sweeping gag order is in place.
However, the woman's attorneys laid out generally the same case against Bryant as have Eagle County prosecutors: That Bryant attacked her in his room at the Cordillera resort, causing her emotional and physical problems that linger to this day.
"The conduct of defendant Bryant demonstrates willful, reckless and intentional criminal conduct and that entire want of care that raises a conscious indifference to consequences," the attorneys wrote.
Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan said the civil lawsuit changes nothing for prosecutors.
"We are still moving forward," she said. She declined comment when asked whether the civil case could complicate the effort to win a conviction.
