Bryant judge expands gag order
 |  Kobe Bryant |
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|  VIDEO |
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EAGLE, Colorado (CNN) -- The judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case expanded his gag order after the attorney for the woman who has made the charges against the NBA star said she would rethink whether to participate in the upcoming criminal trial.
"The court is seriously concerned that the continued public comment of participants in this case will disrupt the process by which a fair trial may be preserved," District Judge Terry Ruckriegle said in his order.
Ruckriegle prohibited all trial participants and their attorneys from talking to reporters, including witnesses. The order does not cover family members on both sides.
The Associated Press reported that Ruckriegle's order came in response to a motion filed by Bryant's lawyers.
Bryant is accused of raping a hotel worker at a resort near Vail, Colorado, in June of last year. The 25-year-old star for the Los Angeles Lakers has pleaded not guilty to felony sexual assault, saying he had consensual sex with the woman at the resort.
If convicted, Bryant would face four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000.
Jury selection for the sexual assault trial is scheduled to begin August 27.
Lawyers for the woman, who is now 20, spoke to the media on Wednesday to discuss their client's concerns about the upcoming trial.
John Clune, attorney for the woman, told CNN and other news organizations that mistakes made by court officials have made it difficult for his client to continue criminal prosecution of the basketball star. She said she might withdraw from that case and instead file a civil suit. (Full story)
Clune said he and the woman's other attorney, Lin Wood, will sit down with their client to discuss their options, and a decision would probably be made "within a week to 10 days."
"It would be inappropriate to say she is out" of the state's case, Clune said, but the mistakes made by court officials in releasing her name and other information on a Web site and in e-mails have made it "difficult to proceed with the case" and caused her to lose "faith in the court system."
The woman's lawyers have expressed their frustration about court mistakes. The most recent was the release of closed-door hearing transcripts in which a defense expert testified that she believes the woman had sex after her encounter with Bryant but before she underwent a rape exam.
According to a report from The Associated Press, Clune has denied the expert's claims, but has said the original gag order, covering lawyers and law enforcement agents involved in the case, prevents him from offering another explanation for the DNA evidence. Semen from another man was found on the accuser during the exam but it was not found on Bryant during his exam.
Last week, Judge Ruckriegle apologized to the woman and her family for mistakes by the court. (Full story)
The new gag order specifically bans eight groups of people from talking about the case in the days leading up to Bryant's trial, the AP reported.
According to the AP report, those covered by the new order are prosecutors and their agents, Bryant and his agents, the accuser and her agents, law enforcement and their agents, all witnesses and anyone who attended closed-door hearings. The order also covers anyone who works for any of these people and anyone who shares an office with any of them.
Bryant's lawyers and prosecutors have accused each other of violating the gag order throughout the case. At Bryant's preliminary hearing in open court last year, prosecutors complained about the defense's repeated use of the alleged victim's name.
CNN Correspondent Gary Tuchman contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
