Woman in Bryant case must be referred by name or as ’person’

Ruckriegle agreed with Bryant’s lawyers that the term implies a state of guilt and would not be acceptable. He said that the woman must now be referred to by her name, or in jury instructions, where she must be spoken of as a "person."

The judge, however, did not agree with the prosecutors that the word is a legal label that grants the woman certain privileges and state-funded services guaranteed to victims of crime.

Bryant’s defense attorneys suggested that calling the 19-year-old woman a victim would hinder the jurors’ ability to make an impartial decision. Haddon said that the neutral terms "complaining witness" and "alleged victim" would be more appropriate.

The 25-year-old Bryant is accused of sexually assaulting a woman last June 30 at a Colorado resort, a Class 3 felony with penalties ranging from four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.

Bryant, who was in Colorado for surgery on his right knee at the time of the alleged assault, claimed the two had consensual sex.

The All-Star guard was in court last Thursday for pre-trial hearings, although a trial date has still not been set. During the hearings, Ruckriegle heard arguments from Bryant’s attorneys asking to have a co-worker and a former boyfriend of the alleged victim submit DNA samples in an effort to prove she lied about her sexual history.

Ruckriegle has still not ruled whether the woman’s sexual history will even be admitted into evidence.

The defense has insisted throughout that the accuser had sex with someone else less than 15 hours after her alleged assault by Bryant, and that injuries found on the woman’s body could have been caused by sexual partners before her encounter with Bryant.

The woman’s attorney has denied that she had sex with anyone before her hospital examination.