An attorney for Bill Cosby asked the Supreme Court on Monday to deny a bid by a Pennsylvania prosecutor to revive his criminal sexual assault case.
Cosby, 84, has been free since June after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction after he spent nearly three years in prison. Attorney Jennifer Bonjean said the Supreme Court should not revive the case, as it is “so factually unique that it fails to present any question that is likely to arise in the future with any regularity,” according to a 19-page filing.
“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,” Bonjean added.
PROSECUTORS ASK SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW RULING OVERTURNING BILL COSBY SEX CRIME CONVICTION
Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled 4-3 that evidence used in Cosby’s 2018 conviction violated due process rights. The court said a nonprosecution agreement made with a previous prosecutor, Bruce Castor, prevented him from being charged in the case.
The district attorney for Montgomery County appealed to the Supreme Court in November, arguing Cosby’s agreement with Castor should not carry the legal equivalent of “immunity.”
“This decision as it stands will have far-reaching negative consequences beyond Montgomery County and Pennsylvania,” District Attorney Kevin Steele wrote in November. “The U.S. Supreme Court can right what we believe is a grievous wrong.”
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The Supreme Court accepts fewer than 1% of the petitions it receives, making it unlikely Cosby’s case will be revived.
Cosby had been accused of and tried for sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, who said the encounter took place in 2004. The actor, previously known as “America’s Dad,” was charged in late 2015 with sexual assault just before the statute of limitations was set to expire.
