DENVER -- There's new information emerging in the Kobe Bryant case. ABC News has learned that an Eagle County sheriff's deputy involved in the investigation was named in a previous racial profiling settlement.

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In 1995, the Eagle County Sheriff's Office agreed to pay $800,000 after being sued for racial profiling. More than 400 ethnic minorities said they were wrongfully pulled over when driving on Interstate 70 between Eagle and Glenwood Springs. One officer named in the lawsuit is now a key investigator in the case against the NBA superstar.

An ABC News legal expert and former prosecutor said this new information could be damaging to the prosecution's case.

"I think this is explosive evidence, and I am shocked that in fact the authorities in Eagle County had this individual, these people, involved in this case because again, this (shows) shades of Mark Fuhrman and the O.J. Simpson case," legal expert Kimberly Guilfoyle Newsom told ABC's "Good Morning America."

"Be sure that the defense is going to bring this up and if that investigator or the people involved in the profiling case take the stand, they will be cross-examined about it. (The defense) will definitely try to bring it out in front of the jury. We saw that in the beginning of the case, them trying to assert, essentially, that this was a racially biased or motivated case."

However, another legal expert, disagreed. Craig Silverman, a 7NEWS legal analyst and former Denver prosecutor, said he didn't think the defense team would touch this divisive issue.

"This is an important development in the court of public opinion. However, it may have little or no value in the court of law," Silverman said. "Remember that the voters of Eagle County re-elected Sheriff Johnson several times after this racial profiling situation became public," said Silverman. "He would still be sheriff but for term limits."

"The Kobe Bryant defense team has to be afraid to raise any issues of potential racial bias in Eagle County for fear of alienating Eagle County residents who will serve on the jury which will decide Kobe Bryant's fate," Silverman continued. "One of the reasons that the attack on Mark Fuhrman was so successful is because most of the jurors in the O.J. case were African American. Kobe Bryant's Eagle County jury will look a lot different."

Sources familiar with the prosecution also confirmed to ABC News that the district attorney is aware that there were no witnesses of any kind to the alleged sexual assault on June 30 at the Lodge and Spa at Cordillera. There were previous reports in the media that some hotel guests may have heard a struggle.

The Los Angeles Lakers guard learned Thursday that he will have to appear in a Colorado courtroom next week to hear the felony sexual assault charge filed against him. Bryant's Denver-based lawyers had asked that he be allowed to skip his appearance, arguing that taxpayer money would be saved because it would reduce the need for security in the high-profile case.

An Eagle County judge denied the request hours after it was filed.

"It's vital for him. It's vital for us. It's where the process begins," Judge Fred Gannett told 7NEWS.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the media continue to argue that Gannett unseal documents related to the case, including an arrest report that would provide more details about what happened on June 30, the night of the alleged attack.

Media lawyers argued that Bryant waived his right to privacy when he declared his innocence at a news conference in Los Angeles.

"The public has a need to know what the government is up to," said Chris Beal, an attorney representing the media.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers have argued that the case records should be withheld because publicity could undermine Bryant's right to a fair trial.

"There's no great public safety concern in this case. It's strictly for entertainment, tabloid news. Oh my god, a superstar charged with a horrible crime," said Greg Crittendon, the deputy district attorney for Eagle County.

Gannett said he wouldn't rule on the records issue before Aug. 6, Bryant's next court appearance.