Denver ? The woman who accused Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant of rape wants a public airing of her federal lawsuit as soon as possible.

Attorney L. Lin Wood said Sunday that his client decided against filing a second, parallel suit in California state court because of fears that legal maneuvers there would delay a trial in the suit in federal court in Denver.

“We want to get this case in front of the public as soon as possible,” Wood said.

The woman’s lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages for pain, ridicule and scorn she says she has suffered since her encounter with Bryant in a Vail-area resort in June 2003.

Bryant had faced a charge of felony sexual assault, but prosecutors dropped the case in September after the woman said she no longer wanted to participate in the criminal case.

Bryant, who had pleaded innocent to the charge, has said the two had consensual sex.

Wood considered filing a second lawsuit in California because a victory there could have brought a bigger settlement.