PHILADELPHIA (Associated Press) — The US Supreme Court announced Monday, without comment, that it will not review Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case, leaving him a free man and ending a two-decade legal drama that changed the cultural landscape, destroyed the reputation of the leading black actor, and sent him to He was imprisoned for several years in his late seventies.
The Supreme Court – whose nine members include two men accused of sexual misconduct – has refused to review a stunning Pennsylvania decision. which released Cosby from prison in June over word from the former attorney general who said he made a secret promise to Cosby’s lawyers that he would not be charged.
A spokesperson for Cosby expressed his “sincere gratitude to the judges” on behalf of Cosby and his family for the announcement and said he had been the victim of “distasteful bait and switch” by the attorney general and trial judge in the case.
“This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby, but it shows that cheating won’t take you very far in life, and the corruption that lurks in the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office has been brought to center stage in the world,” spokesman Andrew White said.
According to Liat, the 84-year-old Cosby is still in good health despite being legally blind. He said that “a lot of people are asking for projects for him” and that he was considering one last round.
Accused Andrea Constand plans to issue a statement later today.
District Attorney Kevin Steele in suburban Philadelphia County, Montgomery, said in a statement that the Supreme Court’s request to revive the case “was the right thing to do,” even if it’s a long way off. Konstand thanked her for her courage and wished her success.
“All victims of crimes deserve to be heard, treated with respect and support during their day in court,” Steele said.
Steele said there was no evidence Cosby had a legally binding agreement that he could never be sued.
It was not written by his predecessor, Bruce L. Castor Jr., nor did he tell anyone in his office. He did not mention it publicly until new evidence emerged and the case was reopened a decade later.
Steele argued in court in 2016 as he lobbied to send the case to trial: “A secret pact allowing a wealthy defendant to buy his way out of a criminal case is not valid.”
Montgomery County Judge Stephen O’Neill found Castor’s testimony on this point to be unreliable and sent the case to trial. However, the state Supreme Court later ruled that whether or not the supposed agreement was legally binding, Cosby relied on it when he gave striking – and possibly incriminating – testimony in a lawsuit later brought by Constand.
“The fundamental principle of fairness that underpins due process in our criminal justice system requires that a promise be kept,” Justice David N. Wicht wrote last year.
while depositingCosby, who appears to be moving freely, provided long and attentive answers to questions from Consand’s attorney. He has detailed his sexual involvement with a series of young women, few of whom are still in their teens, over the years. He remembered giving him several of them, including Constand, alcohol or pills while he remained vigil.
“I don’t hear her say anything. I don’t feel like she’s saying anything. And so I go on and go into the zone somewhere between permission and refusal. I didn’t stop,” Cosby said in her 2006 testimony, describing the sexual encounter that occurred after he gave her Three beads for stress, which she said knocked her down.
He was arrested in the Konstand case on December 30, 2015, just days before the 12-year statute of limitations expired. Steele reopened the case after the Associated Press went to federal court to unearth Cosby’s long-buried testimony in the Constand lawsuit.
Cosby, after testifying for four days, paid $3.4 million to settle the case.
He was brought to trial in the criminal case in June 2017. The jury was unable to reach a verdict. Less than a year later – after media reports of the sexual assault of media mogul Harvey Weinstein of women catalysed the #MeToo movement – a second grand jury indicted Cosby for drugging and harassment of Constand.
The AP does not usually identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they give permission. Consand did it.
Dozens of women have come forward to say Cosby sexually assaulted them, but only Constand led to the arrest. His insurance company, against Cosby’s wishes, settled a Massachusetts lawsuit involving seven defendants for an undisclosed amount following the 2018 conviction. At least two other lawsuits are still pending. against the perpetrator.
Castor, who said he cut the deal with Cosby, represented former President Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial, in which Trump was acquitted of inciting the violent gangs that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Castor said he refused to arrest Cosby in 2005 based on his belief that both parties “could be held in a place less than satisfactory.” Constand later sued Castor for defamation and won a settlement from him. Castor Consand disagreed, but the judge threw him out.
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