The judge in Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case scheduled a series of pre-trial hearings that will last until nearly April, making it unlikely the NBA star would go to trial before the season ends.

Kobe Bryant [Filephoto/AP]

On Monday, judge Terry Ruckriegle set hearing dates for Feb. 2-3, March 1-2 and March 24-25 to settle disputes over what evidence can be used at trial.

"I doubt if the Lakers' schedule will have any impact in the judge's mind, but it certainly will in Kobe Bryant's mind," said lawyer Dan Recht, past president of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar. "I don't see a trial happening in this case until summer at the earliest."

The NBA final begins in early June and will end by June 20.

Bryant, 25, is charged with sexually assaulting an employee of a mountain resort west of Vail last June. Bryant has said the sex was consensual. If convicted, he faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation.

In a Jan. 2 court filing released Monday, defence lawyer Hal Haddon asked the judge to close the February hearing, saying evidence expected to be discussed could taint the jury pool and may not even be allowed at trial.

The hearing was scheduled to deal with a defence request to throw out statements the Los Angeles Lakers guard made to police early July 2. The defence says the statements were obtained illegally because a sheriff's investigator used a hidden tape recorder and never read Bryant his rights.

"If the statements attributed to the defendant are disseminated to the public and then suppressed, the intense media coverage of this case will insure that the jury pool will be exposed to these statements," Haddon wrote.

Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan prosecutors will likely file a formal response to the request to close the hearing.

Lawyer Tom Kelley, who represents media organizations including The Associated Press, said the hearing can be conducted without disclosing the content of Bryant's statements. He said his clients had not yet determined whether to oppose the request.

A Jan. 23 hearing has also been scheduled to discuss other issues, including a defence request to use the accuser's medical records as evidence. For now, that hearing is open to the public.

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