Everyone is very Kobe Byranted out, I'm sure, but this is really fascinating. The Los Angeles Times, in a long investigative piece based upon statements by prosecutors and the accuser's civil lawyers, as opposed to anonymous sources or legal analysts, reports that the accuser performed so badly during a cross-examination at a mock trial held just a few weeks before the scheduled start of the real trial, that both prosecutors and her civil lawyers knew she had to fold.

It tells the story behind the apology negotiations, conducted by her civil lawyers and local defense lawyers who were on the team but not members of Haddon and Mackey's firm; the bitter feuds between the prosecutors which left two of them not speaking up to the week the trial was set to begin and the details of the mock cross that was devasting for the accuser. Almost all of the quotes are from the prosecutors and civil lawyers involved.

The only lawyers not commenting are Pam Mackey and Hal Haddon, who have consistently refused to speak with the press, citing ethical reaons. This article sounds like a prelude to a book on the case, and for once, much of what the reporters say rings true.