Kobe Bryant's lawyers are not yielding in their effort to have his accuser take the stand at his October 9 preliminary hearing. Nor are they letting up in their demand for her medical records.

In a pleading filed yesterday, Kobe's lawyers argue:

"These records are sought prior to the preliminary hearing because it is believed, based on law enforcement reports and other information in the possession of the defense, that the records will contain information important to the court's assessment of the accuser's credibility."

The defense motion to close the preliminary hearing to the public is here.

We think the defendant's right to a fair trial trumps the media's right to access. If the accuser is not going to testify at the preliminary hearing, then her videotaped interview of what happened should be excluded from consideration -- or the hearing should be closed to public access. If the defense can't cross-examine the accuser on the details of the interview, her statements haven't been tested for truth. That is what cross-examination is all about. It has been described as the greatest legal engine ever invented for ferreting out untruths in the courtroom. While the rules of evidence are relaxed at a preliminary hearing, Colorado courts caution against excessive use of hearsay.

The defense says they need her medical records from her prior forced hospitalization (one that resulted from a determination that she was a danger to herself) to establish her lack of credibility and the implausibility of her testimony. That's a tough sell, but technically, they are right. A judge can toss the charges at a preliminary hearing if he or she finds the accuser's testimony to be incredible or implausible as a matter of law. It's more than which person to believe though--it really would have to be that her testimony was simply not believable at all.

We think the motion to close the preliminary hearing is a stronger one. The Constitution says trials are open to the public--not pre-trial proceedings. In a case such as this, where evidence will be introduced that may not be admissible at trial, in light of the massive media interest in reporting and analyzing every nuance of the case, the only way to preserve Kobe's right to a fair trial by an impartial jury is to close the hearing.

We don't know what time this airs in your area today, but it was a lot of fun to do and we think it has a good mix of the legal and social justice issues involved in the Kobe Bryant case. The promo is here.