We were at the studio today getting ready for our Terry Nichols' segment on MSNBC's Abrams Report when we were told there was big breaking news in the Kobe Bryant case and we were switching to cover Kobe Bryant instead. (Only in America would the case of a basketball star charged with sexual assault arising from an admittedly initially consensual encounter trump the news that a man had been convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder in the second largest case of domestic terrorism in history.) So, here's the big Kobe news:

DNA test results from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reportedly show that tests taken the night after the incident at the hospital during the "rape exam" show there is a white male's semen not just on the accuser's yellow knit underwear, but inside her body (and possibly on her thigh). If so, the exuse of wearing "dirty underwear" to her rape exam is probably out the window. Plus, it may mean she lied to investigators when she told them the last time she had sex with someone other than Kobe was two or three days before, with her boyfriend, who wore a condom.

The defense has been alleging for months that the accuser may have had sex with someone after having sex with Kobe and before arriving at the hospital for her rape exam. They have said in pleadings several times that the pinpoint lacerations the accuser suffered to her posterior forchette were the result of repeated consensual activity within a short period of time, not sexual assault. They have filed motions alleging that the accuser has had sex with two prosecution witnesses--and they have requested that two specific white males be ordered to submit to DNA testing. If these test results bear that out, we say there's a good chance this case is over.

Kobe's pre-trial hearings continue tomorrow in Eagle. We're scheduled to review the day's events again on the Abrams Report, MSNBC, 6 PM ET. At issue will be whether the defense can call two crime scene experts to testify that the Eagle authorities botched the investigation by failing to collect important evidence that could have established Kobe's consent defense. Our view, from yesterday's show:

Bump and Update: Terry Nichols has been convicted of 161 counts of first degree murder, conspiracy and arson. The jury deliberated only four hours. He will now face a death penalty proceeding before the same jury. We'll be talking about it on MSNBC's Abrams Report today (6 pm ET) . (Correction: Big news in Kobe Bryant case, our Nichols segment is cancelled and we'll be talking about Kobe instead. )

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Bump and Update: The defense closed today in the Terry Nichols trial. Defense Attorney Barbara Bergman attacked the Government's case:

"This is a case about manipulation, betrayal and overreaching," Bergman said. "People who are still unknown assisted Timothy McVeigh."....Bergman reminded jurors of dozens of witnesses who testified they saw McVeigh with others, including a stocky, dark-haired man depicted in an FBI sketch and known only as John Doe No. 2, in the weeks before the bombing. Witnesses said the others did not resemble Nichols.

"The state has jumped over a lot of holes in the case. The state has to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt and they haven't." Bergman attacked scientific evidence presented by prosecutors during 29 days of testimony. The evidence included the discovery of ammonium nitrate crystals on a piece of plywood that was part of the Ryder truck that delivered the bomb.

Kobe Bryant's lawyers have requested permission to call two expert witnesses at Thursday's hearing to show the police conducted a shoddy and incomplete examination of evidence in Kobe's hotel room that would have shown his innocence.

[Attorney Hal] Haddon said the men “closed their eyes” to potential physical evidence at the site of the alleged crime that might have confirmed Bryant’s innocence. “The failure to conduct the most ’regular’ police procedure — investigation of a crime scene and collection of physical evidence — suggests both a bias against Mr. Bryant and a willful or reckless unwillingness to consider the possibility that Mr. Bryant committed no crime and that the accuser was lying about the sexual encounter for ulterior motives,” Haddon wrote.

....Defense attorneys say crime scene investigators should have taken more photos, collected the chair that was the site of the alleged assault, examined carpet near the chair and collected material in waste baskets.

We'll be talking about the case today during the second half hour of MSNBC's Abrams Report ( the show begins at 6PM ET).

The Judge in the OKC bombing trial of Terry Nichols ruled today that the jury may consider the death penalty as to the 160 non-federal employees killed in the bombing, but not as to the fetus that died with it's mother. Although in 2002 an Oklahoma appellate court upheld a law stating that fetuses are viable at 24 weeks and that their unnatural deaths can be charged as first-degree murder, the Court today found that the state did not give adequate notice to Nichols of its intent to seek the death penalty on the fetus.

Nichols was acquitted on first degree murder charges at his federal trial in 1997, but found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and conspiracy to murder the 8 federal officers and given a life sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. In the state case, the jury will not be allowed to consider lesser charges. It's either first degree murder or innocent.

On Friday, Taylor ruled that Nichols' jury will not consider less serious charges when they decide Nichols' guilt or innocence in the bombing case. The ruling limited jurors to two possible verdicts: guilty of first-degree murder or innocent.

Nichols' lawyers have argued in the state trial that:

McVeigh had set up Nichols to take the blame for other, unidentified coconspirators heavily involved in the plot.

Closing arguments are scheduled for today.

FBI Whistle Blower Frederic Whitehurst testified yesterday for the defense in the Terry Nichols trial, and he said that another agent, Steven Burmeister, lied:

An F.B.I. whistle-blower testified Wednesday at the state murder trial of Terry L. Nichols that a government scientist lied when he said ammonium nitrate crystals found on debris from the Oklahoma City bombing had been embedded by the force of the blast. The whistle-blower, Frederic Whitehurst, testifying for the defense, said an F.B.I. forensic scientist he had trained, Steven Burmeister, also lied when he testified that the crystals came from the kind of fertilizer believed to have been used in the bombing.

Mr. Whitehurst said there was not enough evidence to support either of Mr. Burmeister's conclusions. "He is my student,'' Mr. Whitehurst said. "And I trust him like a brother. But he lied under oath. He lied."

Q-507. Pieces of crystal embedded in a piece of the truck. That was the exhibit introduced at Timothy McVeigh's trial. It was the only piece of direct evidence that linked the bomb to the Ryder truck:

Mr. Whitehurst's testimony focused on a shredded piece of plywood recovered two days after the bombing that the authorities believe came from the cargo container of the Ryder truck that delivered the bomb. The debris, found in a parking lot across the street from the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, is the only direct evidence of the explosive used.

Mr. Whitehurst said that he saw the crystals through a microscope after Mr. Burmeister discovered them but that it was impossible to say whether they were embedded or the result of contamination. Mr. Whitehurst said ammonium nitrate could have been in the parking lot for several reasons.

A feminist, a Laker fan and a teacher struggles with determining where consent ends and rape begins.

Is it rape, a criminal act of violation, when you have willingly joined someone late at night? He hasn't drugged you or strong-armed you, as far as anybody knows. But sometime between entering the door and rushing out of that same door, you became uncomfortable with the sex and wanted it to stop. He didn't, and you're furious. You feel violated, and rightfully so. But is it rape? Did Kobe Bryant force this woman to have sex? Or to finish what they both had started?

Our view has been that "no" means "no"--provided the "no" has been effectively and clearly communicated in a way that any reasonable partner would have understood.

Kobe Bryant is expected to enter a "not guilty" plea today, which will result in a trial date being set within six months. Yesterday's hearing and this morning's were behind closed doors. The accuser attended as a spectator.

The defense is also asking for expanded voir dire-- they will want to weed out jurors seeking fame or fortune from serving on a jury in such a high profile case. We also think race will be an issue in jury selection.

Today the Judge will hear arguments about whether the accuser can be referred to as "the victim" at trial. We hope he rules "no"--that pre-supposes a crime has been committed of which the accuser is a victim. It implies Kobe's guilt. There is a name in the law for the complaining witness in a rape case--prosecutrix--maybe they should just call her that.

Denver defense attorney Jeralyn Merritt thinks race may well be an issue with potential jurors, given that the case involved a black man charged with a white woman's rape. Merritt said you don't ask the potential jurors if they're prejudiced because everyone will deny that they have a prejudice against racial minorities.

"The trick is to ask open-ended questions that will draw them out," Merritt said. "You want them to talk about their biases and prejudices."

[Defense Attorney Larry] Pozner agrees. "America is not yet free of racism," he said. "The American system is not yet an ideal place for either side."

We'll be discussing this week's hearings today on MSNBC's Abrams Report, 6pm ET.

Dave Neiwert of Orcinus has a compelling piece on the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Terry Nichols trial and how quickly America forgets. Lots of stuff on John Doe 2 and the missing leg. Were there others? We don't know, but we question why the Government never seemed to care.

More Neiwart on the conspiracist theory. More from us. Some curious photos.

Two and half days of hearings in the Kobe Bryant alleged sexual assault case ended today with no rulings on the admission of the accuser's sexual history or the suppression of Kobe's statements to sheriff's investigators. However, the Judge did set May 10 as a date for Kobe to plead "not guilty". This is the date that will start the speedy trial clock running.

Our source in the courtroom tells us that the Judge pressed the accuser's attorney quite hard on why he chose to file a public motion for his client seeking an accelerated trial date--with a letter attached from the accuser's mother. Our source says the questioning was so pointed s/he was left with the impression the Judge was accusing the accuser's lawyer of grandstanding for the public.

In a twist from the usual practice, it seems the Prosecution has filed several motions in limine to prevent the defense from presenting certain expert witnesses. Usually, it is the defense that tries to exclude evidence. What doesn't the prosecution want the jury to hear?

The Judge in the Kobe Bryant case today denied Kobe's request for his accuser's medical and psychological records. The issue was whether the accuser waived her privilege in the documents by talking about her treatment with other people.

Larry Pozner, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the defense still can seek testimony from people who have direct knowledge about the woman's purported suicide attempts and prescription drug use. "The defense has a bathtub full of evidence on her suicide attempts that is not in the medical records – it's just plain old-fashioned (eyewitness) testimony," Pozner said.

The Judge has not ruled yet on whether Kobe can introduce evidence of the accuser's other sexual encounters that allegedly occurred around the same time as the incident with Kobe. Kobe's defense is arguing that these acts, rather than acts with Kobe, maybe the cause of any claimed injuries. Hearings on the rape shield law and the suppression of Kobe's statements will resume Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday there will be hearings on a defense request for discovery and the accuser's request to set a trial date.

You can read the Judge's ruling here. (pdf)

The Judge in the Terry Nichols trial has denied his motion to dismiss. The motion, based upon prosecutorial withholding of evidence, was groundless according to the Judge. Secret Service testified there was no videotape showing two persons exiting from the Ryder truck, and her ruled that the other evidence the defense claimed was withheld was not new.

The trial resumed today with the continued testimony of Michael Fortier.

A hearing is ongoing in Terry Nichols' state trial on murder charges over the defense's Motion to Dismiss for withholding of evidence by the prosecution.

Monday, government witnesses testified that the video tape referred to in Secret Service Logs depicting two persons exiting the Ryder truck at the federal building just before the explosion did not exist.

The Judge is expected to rule late today. Background is here and here.

David Neiwert of Orcinus writes today on the Apocalyptic Asymmetry of April 19.

Update: Michael Fortier testified today in Nichols' trial.