Withheld Text Messages Nearly Sink Derrick Rose Rape Case

A federal judge has denied granting a mistrial in the case of NBA star Derrick Rose, whose defense team claimed prosecutors representing the woman accusing Rose and two friends of rape withheld text messages that bolster the defense’s case. Mark Baute, Rose’s attorney, this week said prosecutors had ignored repeated requests to provide copies of the evidence they planned to produce at trial. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald was “visibly frustrated,” the Los Angeles Times writes, and demanded lawyers provide time-stamped documents showing when the text messages in question were given to the defense. Ultimately, Fitzgerald determined that the accuser’s lawyers did not intentionally conceal evidence.