Bill Cosby’s conviction overturned - will be released today

[bcla]

https://www.inquirer.com/news/bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-appeal-andrea-constand-20210630.html

 

[georgina]

Very weird situation from what I am seeing. First DA said he would not charge him criminally if he cooperated in the civil suit. Later another DA brought the criminal charges.

 

[lorimay]

I am shocked.
I just don't get it.
I'm sure his victims are shocked as well.

 

[FutureMrs.Incredible]

Gross. I know that he's old, but personally, I think if you have raped someone/abused a kid/etc., I am fine with you going away for life...

 

[bcla]

At this point he may be past the statute of limitations to charge him, unless maybe a previous charge was made and put on hold. There are still pending civil cases.

 

[JimMIA]

Legally, the decision is actually quite straightforward.

In 2004, the chief prosecutor offered Cosby a deal: give a deposition in your victim's civil lawsuit and we will not prosecute you criminally. Cosby agreed, and did give the deposition.

More than 10 years later, when more victims came forward, they prosecuted him anyway and even used his own deposition as evidence against him Based on that, the PA Supreme Court overruled his conviction, said that he was prosecuted improperly and also said that he can't be prosecuted again because that would be double jeopardy.

Like most decisions of this type, the decision has nothing to do with the facts in the case. It was solely a process question, and the court held that the prosecutors violated due process.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Shut up!! Unreal.

 

[BrianL]

Legally, the decision is actually quite straightforward.

In 2004, the chief prosecutor offered Cosby a deal: give a deposition in your victim's civil lawsuit and we will not prosecute you criminally. Cosby agreed, and did give the deposition.

More than 10 years later, when more victims came forward, they prosecuted him anyway and even used his own deposition as evidence against him Based on that, the PA Supreme Court overruled his conviction, said that he was prosecuted improperly and also said that he can't be prosecuted again because that would be double jeopardy.

Like most decisions of this type, the decision has nothing to do with the facts in the case. It was solely a process question, and the court held that the prosecutors violated due process.

Yeah, unfortunately it looks like they were playing in the fringes and this is what happens. I guess there are some differing opinions on how binding the original agreement was, but the subsequent prosecutors definitely went against the "spirit" of it regardless. It's messy and now it is going to result in no real justice being had at all.

 

[JimMIA]

Here's the entire PA Supreme Court decision if anyone wants to wade through it:

https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/J-100-2020mo - 104821740139246918.pdf?cb=1

 

[bcla]

Yeah, unfortunately it looks like they were playing in the fringes and this is what happens. I guess there are some differing opinions on how binding the original agreement was, but the subsequent prosecutors definitely went against the "spirit" of it regardless. It's messy and now it is going to result in no real justice being had at all.

Yeah. I’d think the chances of any other case going to criminal trial is low at this point. But he may still lose a bunch of civil lawsuits.

 

[jrmasm]

Disgusting

 

[JimMIA]

In reading part of the PA court decision, I got another perspective on what happened originally.

I believe the original prosecutor testified that he decided not to prosecute the criminal case because of "defects" that caused him to doubt if he could get a conviction. He then made that decision public deliberately in order to force Cosby to testify in the civil lawsuit.

Under our Fifth Amendment protections, a person cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal case.

But once the prosecutor removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, Cosby was subpoenaed in the civil case and did give very damaging (to himself) testimony.

That forced testimony was then -- 11 years later -- used against him in the criminal trial. And that's a no-no.

 

[Everything's Fine]

It's no wonder women who are assaulted don't come forward. It's infuriating that he will get away with sexual assault. There were like 60 women who came forward.

 

[JLTraveling]

In reading part of the PA court decision, I got another perspective on what happened originally.

I believe the original prosecutor testified that he decided not to prosecute the criminal case because of "defects" that caused him to doubt if he could get a conviction. He then made that decision public deliberately in order to force Cosby to testify in the civil lawsuit.

Under our Fifth Amendment protections, a person cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal case.

But once the prosecutor removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, Cosby was subpoenaed in the civil case and did give very damaging (to himself) testimony.

That forced testimony was then -- 11 years later -- used against him in the criminal trial. And that's a no-no.

I believe Cosby got swept up in the first wave of the #MeToo movement. I'm not saying he's 100% innocent, but I also don't think he's 100% guilty as defined by the standards of the time. Drug and sex parties were a thing, especially in Hollywood. And power differentials were not a thing--my mom was a mental health therapist in a smallish town in the 80s, and her male boss, a licensed psychologist, used to chase her around the desk trying to grab her butt. She thought it was funny. So did my dad. When you look at the actual evidence as compared to the standards of when the behavior occurred, Cosby's actions were questionable at best. But forced testimony combined with a huge wave of public opinion against anything that could be considered a sex crime under modern standards, and there you have it.

Oh, and for the record, I'm not anti-#MeToo. I'm a sexual assault survivor myself. That doesn't mean I don't think it can be taken too far--see Amber Heard destroying Johnny Depp.

 

[BrianL]

In reading part of the PA court decision, I got another perspective on what happened originally.

I believe the original prosecutor testified that he decided not to prosecute the criminal case because of "defects" that caused him to doubt if he could get a conviction. He then made that decision public deliberately in order to force Cosby to testify in the civil lawsuit.

Under our Fifth Amendment protections, a person cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal case.

But once the prosecutor removed the possibility of criminal prosecution, Cosby was subpoenaed in the civil case and did give very damaging (to himself) testimony.

That forced testimony was then -- 11 years later -- used against him in the criminal trial. And that's a no-no.

Yeah, it really wasn't right for the subsequent prosecutor to go back on the deal and especially to use the civil depositions given in the the criminal case. It's actually shocking that it was even allowed to begin with.

For anyone, I am not defending Cosby here - at all - but his rights are everyone's rights too, so things like this are very important.

 

[jdb in AZ]

The good: he's 83 and not likely to pose more of a threat to society.
The bad: He's obviously guilty.
The ugly: His victims don't get justice.

 

[JimMIA]

It's no wonder women who are assaulted don't come forward. It's infuriating that he will get away with sexual assault. There were like 60 women who came forward.

I agree, but that is why it is so important that people on the prosecution side conduct themselves properly. If police or prosecutors don't follow basic principles like telling the truth and abiding by constitutional requirements, justice suffers.

I don't know all the facets of the other victims' cases. It is possible that some of those cases could be prosecuted, but the cases would have to stand on their own merit. The information and evidence from this case could not be used.

But it's also possible that the statute of limitations in those additional cases has expired.

 

[bcla]

I agree, but that is why it is so important that people on the prosecution side conduct themselves properly. If police or prosecutors don't follow basic principles like telling the truth and abiding by constitutional requirements, justice suffers.

I don't know all the facets of the other victims' cases. It is possible that some of those cases could be prosecuted, but the cases would have to stand on their own merit. The information and evidence from this case could not be used.

But it's also possible that the statute of limitations in those additional cases has expired.

Reports are that the allegations in in 2008. Not sure if any charges were filed before the statute of limitations ran out. But aren’t there also time limits for going forward with a prosecution once a charge is filed?

He’s still being sued by several women.

 

[georgina]

Seems a bit of an overeach for Cosby to claim this is justice for Black America.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Wow