Comedian Bill Cosby looked tired and was supported by two bodyguards as he arrived at court for a preliminary hearing for sexual assault charges on Wednesday.
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Cosby was charged in December in relation to an alleged 2004 sexual assault involving former Temple University employee Andrea Constand.
Cosby’s attorneys say Castor’s agreement prompted Cosby to waive his 5th amendment rights in a civil deposition, and they argue prosecutors are violating that agreement by using statements from the deposition, which was unsealed a year ago, to file charges against Cosby.
ABC27’s Dawn White is live in Montgomery County.
As the agreement was off the record, some lawyers say it would not be legally binding.
Bill Cosby accuser Chloe Goins dismissed her lawsuit against the comedian on Tuesday, according to court documents obtained by TheWrap. The charges were lodged before the 12-year statute of limitations to file charges expired.
Cosby, 78, is set for a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Montgomery County Court, where he’s facing felony charges of aggravated indecent assault.
Castor is expected to the be the defense’s key witness at the hearing Tuesday.
Castor pointed to a 2005 press release about his decision not to prosecute Cosby. His lawyers are arguing that there was a non-prosecution agreement that was entered into with the District Attorney at the time, Bruce Castor, with Bill Cosby’s criminal lawyer back in 2005.
“Knowing this, unless you can make out a case without that deposition and without anything the deposition led you to, I think Cosby would have an action against the county and maybe even against you personally”, Castor wrote in the email to Ferman at that time. Constand, now 44, said Cosby plied her with drugs and alcohol before sexually assaulting her.
However, Castor said the two lawyers did not have “an agreement”.
Castor said Constand’s delay in going to authorities was of “enormous significance” in his consideration of the case.
A federal judge on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016, dismissed a lawsuit filed by Renita Hill, 48, of Baldwin, Pa., who claims Bill Cosby defamed her when he and his representatives responded to allegations that he drugged and sexually assaulted her and other women. He has said he has no evidence that one exists. He said it thwarted his ability to test her hair or fingernails for evidence she was drugged.
Anne Poulin, a law professor at Villanova University, said the defense has a high bar to meet to get the case thrown out early on. I then said, ‘Let’s go into the living room.’ I asked her to have a sit down on the sofa.
The current DA says that’s ridiculous – that only a judge can grant immunity and that his predecessor left open the door to prosecuting Cosby in the future.
It was not immediately clear when Common Pleas Judge Steven T O’Neill will rule.
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The lawyer who served as Castor’s top assistant in 2005 could also be called to testify.
