Judge: Kobe Accuser Can't Be Called Victim
The defense scored a major victory in the Kobe Bryant case today. The judge ruled the prosecution cannot refer to the accuser as a "victim.' This is the right decision. In order for the accuser to be a victim, there has to be a crime of which she was the victim. Kobe's defense is there was no crime, just consensual sex. By calling her a victim in front of the jury, the jury is in effect being told there was a crime.
A rape charge where the defense is consent is not like a murder charge where we know in which it's acknowledged a crime occured and it's just a question of who did it. In that kind of a case, there is a victim who is dead.
This decision levels the playing field and causes no detriment to the prosecution.
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