Following today’s blockbuster decision, lawyers for Bill Cosby are fighting back, releasing a statement announcing the embattled comedian will be launching an appeal after a Pennsylvania judge chose to proceed in prosecuting him for indecent assault. The woman claims Cosby drugged and sexually violated her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004; the TV star whom played one of America’s favorite television dads, Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, could get up to 10 years in prison if he is convicted, according to a Tampa Tribune report.
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“There was a lot of yelling and screaming and trying to divert our attention”, said Dolores Troiani, Constand’s lawyer, of Cosby’s behavior at the four-day deposition during the civil trial in 2005.
But Kevin Steele, current district attorney, questioned whether Mr Castor ever made such an agreement, since it was never put in writing on a legal document and Cosby’s attorney with whom Mr Castor dealt is now dead. Castor testified on Tuesday.
“This motion by Mr. Cosby to have his criminal case dismissed was just the latest in a long string of unsuccessful legal maneuvers by him to try to avoid having a jury decide his guilt or innocence”, Allred continued.
The complaint by Andrea Constand, who has waived her right to anonymity, was first made after the alleged assault.
In addition to denying the allegations, Cosby argues he’s being improperly prosecuted based on testimony he gave during a civil suit – testimony his defense says was given only because the state closed the criminal case in 2005. The strategy worked: Cosby testified, and Constand settled for an undisclosed amount.
As the case against Cosby moves forward, he will either risk going to trial or will have to take a plea deal.
Castor testified that in deciding not to charge Cosby, he meant to forever close the door on prosecuting the comedian.
Lawyers for the Cos were unsuccessful in having the sexual assault charges against him dismissed.
More than 50 women have publicly alleged sexual abuse by the pioneering black comedian, who attained his greatest fame for his role as a lovable obstetrician and family man in the hit 1980s sitcom ‘The Cosby Show‘.
Cosby is charged with drugging and assaulting a former Temple University employee in 2004.
O’Neill rejected defense arguments that Cosby had secured an immunity agreement in 2005 from the former county prosecutor that the case would never be reopened.
Attorneys for Cosby had argued that the entertainer could not be prosecuted due to an agreement reached with a former Montgomery County district attorney.
Cosby has yet to have his preliminary hearing and formal arraignment in the case.
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The case against 78-year-old Cosby largely hinges on the judge’s view of Castor’s statements about whether Cosby would face charges.
