An lawyer for Los Angeles County mentioned Wednesday there’s not sufficient proof to show first responders shared pictures of Kobe Bryant’s deadly helicopter crash with the general public — earlier than jurors started weighing the case filed by the NBA star’s widow over the pictures.
“The proof isn’t there,” protection lawyer Mira Hashmall advised the jury throughout closing statements in Los Angeles federal courtroom. “This can be a photos case however there are not any photos.”
Hashmall mentioned county deputies and firefighters took pictures of the horrific January 2020 crash that killed the Lakers legend and eight different to doc it — however by no means shared these pictures with anybody from the general public.
“Are you able to fault them for being confused, if that was a foot or an arm?” she requested jurors. “We count on our first responders to be heroes however they’re human.”
Earlier than deliberations on the eleventh day of the trial over Vanessa Bryant’s federal invasion-of-privacy lawsuit in opposition to the county, Hashmall urged jurors to think about that not one of the pictures have ever emerged within the media or on-line.
She mentioned the case hinges on whether or not the grotesque pictures had been “publicly disseminated,” and on if there’s a widespread follow of sharing personal pictures among the many county’s first responders.
Hashmall conceded that deputies violated county procedures — however not Vanessa Bryant’s constitutional rights — as a result of they solely confirmed the pictures to different regulation enforcement officers.
“There have been a number of lives misplaced that day,” she mentioned. “[Plaintiffs] need you to disregard the information … and depend on emotion.”
In the meantime, Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer, Luis Li, reminded jurors {that a} bartender testified beforehand {that a} Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy confirmed him pictures of Kobe Bryant’s stays.
Li known as {that a} violation of Bryant’s dignity, saying the pictures had been “not public and never [for] deputies to share.”
He added, “Mrs. Bryant is right here in the present day to hunt justice and accountability for Kobe and [her late daughter] Gigi,” who was additionally killed within the crash.
Contained in the courtroom, Vanessa Bryant burst into tears alongside together with her 19-year-old daughter, Natalia, as they sat subsequent to Lakers basic supervisor and shut household buddy Rob Pelinka.
On Tuesday, a lawyer for Chris Chester — who misplaced family members in the identical helicopter crash — requested the jury to award him and the NBA star’s widow round $40 million every over pictures of the wreck shared by first responders.
Earlier this month, California bartender Victor Gutierrez testified {that a} Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Joey Cruz confirmed him pictures of the late-Lakers participant’s gory helicopter crash scene.
Attorneys performed footage from the bar through which Cruz is seen his telephone, displaying it to the bartender and laughing.
The choose has advised jurors they are going to be required to deliberate till 4 p.m. every day till they make a decision.
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