Colorado's rape shield law
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(CNN) -- Colorado's rape shield law is considered one of the toughest such state laws in the nation. The law prevents defense attorneys from using unrelated details of the alleged victim's sexual or mental health history in court, with few exceptions.
Colorado's definition of consent for sex assumes uncoerced action without even "the influence of fear."
Last week's questioning by Kobe Bryant's defense attorney, Pamela Mackey, in which she asked whether injuries sustained by the alleged victim were consistent with having sex with three partners in three days, was a violation of the state's rape shield law, prosecutors have argued.
On Wednesday, defense attorneys argued before Eagle County Judge Frederick Gannett that they were simply trying to determine the source of the woman's injuries.
Prosecutor Ingrid Bakke said Colorado's rape shield law bars the use of an alleged victim's sexual history in rape cases, with few exceptions, according to a report from The Associated Press. One of the few exceptions to the state's rape shield law allows discussing the alleged victim's sexual history if such discussion casts doubt on whether injuries may have been sustained during sex with someone else.
To raise the issue at trial, defense lawyers must file a motion explaining their reasons and a judge must find the information credible and relevant. Preliminary hearings, however, are not mentioned in that statute.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
