"Not guilty," the tall, gangly Bryant said as he stooped to speak into a microphone while his lawyers, Hal Haddon and Pamela Mackey, stood on either side of him.

Bryant also told Eagle County District Judge Terry Ruckriegle that he understood the charge against him.

Then he raced out of court to catch a private plane that would fly him back to Los Angeles in time for the fourth game of the NBA playoffs.

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Though the 25-year-old basketball star's formal plea was expected to clear the way for Ruckriegle to set a trial date in the high-profile case, the judge put off that decision until more is known about the status of DNA testing.

The judge set May 27 for the next pretrial hearing.

Under Colorado law, Bryant has a right to a trial within six months of entering a plea. If convicted, he could face from four years to life in prison or probation of 20 years to life.

Bryant, the married father of a 15-month old girl, has admitted having sex on June 30 of last year with his accuser. He has said the sex with the woman, who worked at a posh Colorado hotel where Bryant was staying while he had out-patient surgery on a knee, was consensual and that he now regrets it.

Bryant's lawyer, Haddon, told the judge that his client plans to use an "affirmative defense" of consensual sex. Denver attorney Scott Robinson, who is observing the proceedings, said an affirmative defense is similar to killing in self defense. "You can admit some or all of the elements and still be acquitted," Robinson said.

Most of Tuesday's hearing was held behind closed doors as was all of Monday's session.

Bryant's lawyers have tried to portray the woman as so unstable that she made up the rape accusation to get the attention of a former boyfriend.

However, defense attorneys said they have not found any evidence of previous false reporting on the part of the accuser. Prosecutors conceded in court that they had no plans to offer evidence at trial of any prior sexual misconduct by Bryant.

Bryant's lawyers have also taken on the task of challenging Colorado's Rape Shield law, which prohibits defendants from offering at trial information about the sexual history of the accuser.

The defense wants to argue that evidence of injuries to the young woman's genital area could have come from consensual sex with other men a few days before and hours after she said Bryant raped her. The woman, through her attorney, has denied she had sex just after the incident with Bryant.

The judge made no decision on the challenge and lawyers observing the hearing said it was highly unlikely the judge would strike down the law enacted in 1978.

"The Colorado Rape Shield law has withstood the test of time and numerous attacks by defense attorneys and was upheld again two years ago," Cynthia Stone, spokeswoman for the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said.

The defense also objects to having the woman referred to in court as the "victim" because it implies that Bryant is guilty.

"If Mr. Bryant is acquitted then he is the victim, at least arguably," Haddon told the judge with the woman's parents present in the courtroom.

Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert responded by saying that Colorado law defines a victim as "the person who is alleging that a sexual assault occurred." The judge made no decision after the attorneys finished.

After Tuesday's proceedings, Bryant left to jet back to Los Angeles to join the Lakers, who face the San Antonio Spurs for game four of a best-of-seven playoff series, which the Spurs lead 2-1.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Miller)