Bill Cosby will remain free following a decision by the United States Supreme Court not to weigh in on the Pennsylvania court ruling that initially released him from prison following his prior conviction.
According to media reports, the longtime former sitcom star will not be at risk of possibly going back to prison after SCOTUS decided not to hear appeals in the case regarding his previously overturned sexual assault conviction.
According to news reports, SCOTUS voted 4-3 on Monday to “leave in place” last summer’s ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that freed the comedian from his prison sentence. The decision was released “without comment” so we have no idea why they came down on that side — though clearly it was controversial inside the court as well, since the vote was 4-3.
The controversial decision to nullify the verdict came about amid Cosby’s time in prison following his 2018 conviction for the aggravated indecent assault of Andrea Constand.
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At the time, last summer, the PA Supreme Court had ruled that Cosby’s right to due process was violated when prosecutors in the case ignored the deal a previous District Attorney had made not to go after the disgraced TV star in exchange for sitting down for a deposition in Constand’s civil suit.
Following the overturned ruling, Cosby’s prosecutors had asked the US Supreme Court to intervene in the case, but on Monday, the highest court in the land officially declined to do so. That would appear to be the end of the story on this one, then, as Cosby is officially “free and clear” regarding criminal liability, as TMZ notes.
There are still legal battles to be fought, though, as Cosby is currently facing a lawsuit filed by Judy Huth regarding an alleged sexual battery claim.
On Monday morning, Cosby’s spokesperson Andrew Wyatt released public reaction about the former TV star’s situation to the media outlet, saying (below):
“On behalf of Mr. & Mrs. Cosby and the Cosby family, we would like to offer our sincere gratitude to the justices of the United States Supreme Court for following the rules of law and protecting the Constitutional Rights of ALL American Citizens of these United States. Mr. Cosby’s Constitutional Rights were a ‘reprehensible bait and switch’ by Kevin Steele, Judge Steve T. O’Neill and their cohorts. This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County District’s Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world. Thank you very much.”
Wow.
That is certainly quite a strong statement from the longtime sitcom actor’s team…
Meanwhile District Attorney Kevin Steele warned the decision to free Cosby would have “far-reaching negative consequences” as every case where the DA “publicly announces that he will not file criminal charges based on lack of evidence” but then changes course later on will now be called into question — and others may also have their convictions overturned.
What do U make of this new courtroom development, Perezcious readers?
[Image via WENN]
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