Cosby Lawyers Request to Exclude His 2005 Testimony From Trial

On Tuesday, Bill Cosby’s lawyers requested a Pennsylvania state judge to preclude jurors at his sexual assault trial from gathering potentially damaging testimony he gave under oath in 2005.

Lawyer Brian McMonagle argued at a trial in Norristown that a former Montgomery County prosecutor had assured never to prosecute Cosby over accusations by Andrea Constand that he attacked her at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. Constand is a former basketball coach at Temple University, Cosby’s alma mater.

McMonagle said without that promise, Cosby would never have consented to sit for a deposition in Constand’s civil lawsuit. In that testimony, Cosby admitted providing drugs to different women before participating in sexual acts. Constand’s case is the only one out of more than 60 to lead to criminal charges.

Cosby has continually denied any misconduct.

Prosecutors responded to McMonagle by replying that the assurance was never confirmed in writing. They also claimed that Cosby’s lawyers did not judiciously depend on the so-called “promise” in any case.

The two-day hearing was held before Judge Steven O’Neill of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. It focused on numerous disputes leading up to the trial slated for June. They involve the prosecution’s appeal to call as witnesses more than a dozen women who have charged Cosby.

‘Alcohol and drugs’

The once adored 79-year old comedian of the 1980’s TV hit show “The Cosby Show” has been accused by women of sexually assaulting them in a string of attacks dating back decades. The assault happens after loading them with alcohol and drugs, the women alleged.

Cosby is currently legally blind and has difficulty walking. He wore a dark suit and seemed focused throughout the hearing.

The morning session centered on Cosby’s sworn testimony in Constand’s 2005 civil lawsuit.

Cosby’s lawyer McMonagle said his client would have raised his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination lacking the assurance from previous county District Attorney Bruce Castor.

“This was a sitting district attorney saying, ‘I’m not going to prosecute your client, ever,'” McMonagle said.

However, Castor’s own testimony on the matter at a February hearing was peppered with inconsistencies, Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan said. Ryan said that Castor also could not recall instances on which he seemed to tell reporters that the investigation could be reopened in the future.

 

 

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