Cosby prosecutors urge Supreme Court to restore conviction
Prosecutors asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reinstate Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, complaining the verdict was thrown out over a questionable agreement that the comic claimed gave him lifetime immunity. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele called the court's decision “an indefensible rule," predicting an onslaught of criminal appeals if it is allowed to stand.
news.yahoo.comMaxwell lawyers: Cosby ruling reason to toss sex abuse case
Lawyers for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are arguing a court decision that freed Bill Cosby from prison backs up tossing out her sex trafficking case. In court papers filed on Friday, the lawyers said the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is in a “similar situation” as Cosby because both were covered by non-prosecution deals at the time they were charged in sex abuse cases. Cosby was convicted in 2018 on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, when she was a Temple University employee.
news.yahoo.comHard lessons for lawyers in Cosby case; tougher for victims
The seven justices who reversed Bill Cosby’s conviction this week spent months debating whether he had a secret agreement with a prosecutor that tainted his 2018 criminal sexual assault conviction. In the end, Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled that a district attorney had induced Cosby to give incriminating testimony in 2005 for a lawsuit, with the promise that no criminal charges would be filed.
news.yahoo.comRashad draws critics and dismissal calls for defending Cosby
Phylicia Rashad has found herself embroiled in controversy after expressing public support for Bill Cosby’s release from prison, with some prominent Black voices calling for her dismissal as dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts.
The Absurd Legal Saga That Freed Bill Cosby—and Could Enable Abusers
Gilbert Carrasquillo/GettyAs nationwide anger erupted on Wednesday after Bill Cosby walked out of a Pennsylvania prison with his sexual-assault conviction overturned, legal experts were alternately aghast and numb to a signature villain of the MeToo Era slipping away.The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court vacated Cosby’s 2018 conviction on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault after finding that a previous understanding with prosecutors should have prevented the charges from ever bein
news.yahoo.comEXPLAINER: Why Bill Cosby's conviction was overturned
Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction was thrown out Wednesday by Pennsylvania's highest court in a ruling that swiftly freed the actor from prison more than three years after he was found guilty of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion. Cosby, 83, was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era, and his conviction was seen as a turning point in the movement to hold powerful men accountable for sexual misconduct. The split court found that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted because the previous district attorney had promised the comedian once known as “America's Dad” that he wouldn't be charged over Constand's accusations.
news.yahoo.comBill Cosby Walks Free From Prison After Conviction Is Tossed
Mark Makela/Getty ImagesThe first major criminal conviction of the #MeToo era fell apart on Wednesday, with former TV star Bill Cosby walking out of prison a free man.The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to vacate his 2018 conviction and sentence for sexual assault, finding that Cosby had been double-crossed by prosecutors who reneged on a public declaration not to prosecute him. At about 2:30 p.m., just two hours after the ruling, he walked out of SCI Phoenix, a state prison out
news.yahoo.comCourt overturns Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction, bars further prosecution
Actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for sentencing in his sexual assault trial, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, September 24, 2018. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction, setting the stage for the release of the 83-year-old comedian later in the day. The state's highest court tossed Cosby's conviction as a result of an agreement he had with a prior prosecutor that would have prevented Cosby from being criminally charged in the case. Originally, the trial judge had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby's first trial. This testimony tainted the trial, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said, even though the lower appeals court had found it appropriate to show a pattern of behavior.
cnbc.comBill Cosby’s sex assault conviction overturned by court
Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction Wednesday after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia. The court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby when he later gave potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil suit.
news.yahoo.comBill Cosby refuses sex offender program, so is denied parole
Actor Bill Cosby won't be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania. The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence. Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt called the decision “appalling” and said Cosby “vehemently proclaims his innocence.”
news.yahoo.comBill Cosby denied parole for refusal to take sex offender class
Cosby was convicted of the 2004 sexual assault of ex-Temple University employee Andrea Constand in his mansion. Entertainment legend Bill Cosby was recently denied parole at the Pennsylvania prison where he has been incarcerated since 2018 serving a three-to-10-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault. The Pennsylvania Parole Board denied the 83-year-old actor-comedian-producer based on “a number of reasons,” according to a CNN report.
news.yahoo.comLawyer defending Trump accustomed to political disaster
He argued that Trump could not have — and would not have — encouraged the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “We’re really here because majority in the House of Representatives does not want to face Donald Trump as a political rival in the future. AdHis reemergence as an impeachment lawyer for Trump was a head-scratching moment for Pennsylvania's political and legal world. He had not campaigned for Trump, and a longtime friend, Brian Miles, told the Inquirer that the two men had never discussed Trump before Castor mentioned recently that he was up for the job. For all the criticism directed at him, Castor suggested that Trump did not criticize his performance.
Cosby's sex assault conviction goes before high-level court
Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear his appeal of the conviction on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. The arguments will focus on the trial judge's decision to let five other accusers testify for the prosecution. Cosby, 83, hopes to overturn his 2018 sex assault conviction because the judge let prosecutors call five other accusers who said Cosby mistreated them the same way he did his victim, Andrea Constand. Judge Steven T. O'Neill had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby's first trial in 2017, when the jury could not reach a verdict. O'Neill then let five other accusers testify at Cosby's retrial in 2018, when the jury convicted him of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand.
Bill Cosby appeal set for Dec. 1 in Pennsylvania high court
HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear Bill Cosby's appeal of his felony sex assault conviction on Dec. 1. A lower appeals court had upheld his conviction, but the state's high court agreed this year to review two key issues in the case. The high court will also consider whether the jury should have heard evidence that Cosby had given quaaludes to women in the past. Dozens of women have come forward over the years to accuse Cosby of sexual assault, and the trial judge deemed him a sexually violent predator. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.
Legal advocates line up on both sides of Bill Cosby's appeal
PHILADELPHIA – Legal advocates are lining up on both sides of actor Bill Cosby’s appeal as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court prepares to review his 2018 sex assault conviction. Cosby was the first celebrity to go on trial in the #MeToo era, and his appeal could resolve lingering questions about how the cases should be tried. Public defenders in Philadelphia, in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in Cosby's appeal, noted that courts have given conflicting guidance on the issue. The other groups filing legal briefs in the appeal include the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. Cosby’s trial judge, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill, said their testimony did just that, even if it occurred a decade or two before Constand's encounter.
Cosby sex assault appeal takes on non-prosecution deal
PHILADELPHIA Bill Cosbys lawyers argued in an appeals filing Thursday that it was fundamentally unfair to let prosecutors use Cosbys damaging deposition from a sex accusers lawsuit against him at trial. A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County district attorney's office declined comment but said prosecutors would file a response in the coming month. Cosby, 83, is serving a three- to 10-year prison term after the jury in his 2018 sex assault trial convicted him of three counts of felony sex assault over a 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand. Fundamental fairness and principles of due process mean that promise was binding on Montgomery County prosecutors, Cosbys lawyers argued. In June, Pennsylvanias highest court agreed to review those two issues, overturning a lower court that had rejected Cosbys appeal.
Cosby invokes systemic racism as he fights #MeToo conviction
___Constand knew Cosby from her job at Temple University, where Cosby was a booster, alumnus and longtime trustee twice her age. (She thought she was taking a homeopathic supplement; Cosby later said it was Benadryl, while acknowledging he once gave a 19-year-old Quaaludes before sex.) A decade later, Black comedian Hannibal Buress took Cosby to task for his scolding. You rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches," he said onstage in 2014. She also believes that racial bias exists in the criminal justice system.
Bill Cosby granted appeal in Pennsylvania sex assault case
PHILADELPHIA In a stunning decision that could test the legal framework of #MeToo cases, comedian Bill Cosby has won the right to fight his 2018 sexual assault conviction in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Cosby has said he relied on that agreement before agreeing to testify in the trial accuser's civil lawsuit. Those issues have been at the heart of the case since Cosby was charged in December 2015, days before the 12-year state of limitations expired. Montgomery County Judge Stephen O'Neill allowed just one of them to testify at Cosby's first trial in 2017, which ended with an acquittal. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been victims of sexual assault without their permission, which Constand has granted.
Bill Cosby asks Pennsylvania top court to hear appeal on sex crime conviction
(Reuters) - Lawyers for Bill Cosby on Thursday asked the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to hear his appeal of his 2018 sexual assault conviction, a month after a lower court rejected their argument that the disgraced comedian did not get a fair trial. FILE PHOTO: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse after his first day of sentencing hearings in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 24, 2018. The Pennsylvania court is not obligated to take up the appeal, a copy of which was provided by Cosbys spokesman. Stacey Witalec, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, confirmed that Cosby had requested an appeal, but it was not immediately clear when the court would make a decision on whether it will consider it. Cosbys latest appeal comes days after a rape trial for former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein opened in New York.
feeds.reuters.comPennsylvania court rejects Bill Cosby's appeal of sex assault conviction
(Reuters) - A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday dismissed Bill Cosbys bid to overturn his 2018 sex assault conviction, rejecting his lawyers argument that a judge deprived the comedian of a fair trial by allowing other accusers to testify. Cosbys spokesman Andrew Wyatt said Cosby would appeal the conviction in the State Supreme Court. Our personal battle against clear, racist, incestuous vindictiveness, within the Pennsylvania criminal justice systems, is not over, Camille Cosby, the entertainers wife, said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby is seen in this booking photo released by Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Maryland U.S., September 25, 2018. Courtesy Montgomery County Correctional Facility/Handout via REUTERSCosbys lawyers took issue with Montgomery County Judge Steven ONeills decision to allow testimony from five other accusers whose claims were too old to lead to criminal charges.
feeds.reuters.comPennsylvania judges skeptical of Cosby effort to reverse sex assault conviction
HARRISBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A trio of Pennsylvania judges on Monday appeared deeply skeptical of Bill Cosbys effort to have his sexual assault conviction overturned, as the comedians lawyers argued in court that the trial judge had deprived him of a fair trial. Actor and comedian Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse after his first day of sentencing hearings in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 24, 2018. But Judge John Bender, the presiding judge on the panel, expressed doubt about that assertion. Cosbys first trial in June 2017 ended in a mistrial after the jury could not agree on a verdict. At that trial, ONeill permitted only a single other accuser to testify.
feeds.reuters.comBill Cosby appeals 2018 conviction for Pennsylvania sex attack
FILE PHOTO: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse in handcuffs after sentencing in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 25, 2018. A jury in Norristown, Pennsylvania, found Cosby guilty in April 2018 of drugging and sexually violating former Temple University administrator Andrea Constand, at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. Cosby, who is married, has insisted all along that any sexual encounters he had were consensual. The defense argued it should have been excluded as irrelevant to the criminal case and a violation of Cosbys constitutional protection against self-incrimination. Cosbys lawyers maintain the criminal case was itself a violation of a 2005 promise by Steeles predecessor, Bruce Castor, to refrain from prosecuting Cosby if the entertainer agreed to sit for the sworn deposition in Constands civil suit.
feeds.reuters.comJudge orders Bill Cosby to go to trial for criminal sexual assault
A Pennsylvania judge has ordered Bill Cosby to face trial for criminal sexual assault. Andrea Constand alleges that she was assaulted by Cosby in 2004. CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan joins CBSN with more on what to expect.
cbsnews.comBill Cosby may face woman accusing him of sexual assault
Bill Cosby could come face-to-face with one of the women accusing him of drugging and molesting them. Prosecutors claim the 2004 encounter between Cosby and then-Temple University employee Andrea Constand was criminal sexual assault. CBS News legal expert Rikki Klieman joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss Tuesday's upcoming proceedings.
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