It seemed that the Kobe Bryant rape case would come down to race:  A black defendant and a young white accuser.

But these issues appear to be in the background of the larger issues surrounding power and questions of celebrity and economic class.  

Bryant has abundant power as a wealthy sports star while the alleged victim was a front-desk clerk.

"Celebrity status trumps race," said Professor Lawrence M. Friedman of Stanford University Law School.

"It's really hard to go up against a powerful man and accuse him of rape - that's been clear since the beginning of time, and that's what this case is all about," said Caroline A. Forell, a professor at the University of Oregon School of Law.