PHILADELPHIA — A lawyer for Bill CosbyThe following questions were asked Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bidby prosecutors to revive the criminal sex attack case against him.
Actor and comedian, 84, has been released from prison since June when a Pennsylvania appeals court overturned the conviction and released him after almost three years.
The highest court in the state found that Cosby believed he was bound by a non-prosecution agreement with an ex-district attorney. He gave damaging testimony to the accuser’s 2005 lawsuit. Later, that testimony led to his arrest in 2015.
Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby lawyer, said that the case is based on a limited set of facts which should not be of interest to the Supreme Court.
“Notwithstanding the commonwealth’s warning of imminent catastrophic consequences, the Cosby holding will likely be confined to its own ‘rare, if not entirely unique’ set of circumstances, making review by this court particularly unjustified,”She wrote in Monday’s 15-page reply.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele is unsuccessful in his attempt to revive the case. The U.S. Supreme Court receives less than 1 percent of all petitions. The case would need to be heard by at least four of the nine justices of the court.
Bruce Castor’s 2005 news release, which stated that he did not have enough evidence at the time to arrest Cosby, is the only evidence of a promise of nonprosecution. Steele believes that it does not amount to an immunity agreement.
Cosby was the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual assault during the #MeToo era. In 2018, the jury found him guilty of drugging, molesting and harassing Andrea Constand, a college sports administrator.
Lawyers and victim advocates will be closely watching to see if the Supreme Court is interested in the case. Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh both were accused of sexual misconduct during bitterly fought confirmation hearings.
Cosby was a revolutionary Black comedian and actor who created the top-ranked list. “Cosby Show”In the 1980s. His image was later damaged by a series of sexual assault accusations. “America’s Dad”Constand’s case led to multimillion-dollar court settlements involving at least eight females. Constand’s was the only case that resulted in criminal charges.
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