Bill Cosby's mug shot, courtesty People Magazine
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
UPDATED 1/6/16 LA Co. DA declines to file charges on two reported incidents. See below.
UPDATED 1/5/16
December 30, 2015
It's all over the news. 2015 ends with Bill Cosby's arrest. What a way to end the year.
People Magazine Article
Vulture.com Article
NY Times Article
LA Times Article
Slate.com Article
It will be interesting to see how this pans out. Which news outlet/reporter will rise to the top regarding in-depth and balanced coverage of the case. Will this be the next trial of the century?
T&T readers, if you find a good article from another news organization, please post the link and I will add it to the story.
Additional Links
Statement of Lisa Bloom, attorney for Janice Dickenson, who is suing Cosby in civil court.
Heavy.com Article
Note: January 5, 2016
This note comes from ScribeOhio
Happy New Year, Betsy, to you and yours! I just read this New Yorker article by Jeff Toobin: http://www.newyorker.com/
Good discussion of Rule 404 in Pennsylvania. It's going to be interesting.
ScribeOhio
UPDATE January 6, 2015
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has declined to file criminal charges against actor Bill Cosby. Declination Document.
UPDATE January 6, 2015
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has declined to file criminal charges against actor Bill Cosby. Declination Document.
Posts
2 comments:
Thank you, as always, Betsy, for the work you do. I totally understand your priorities lie elsewhere these days and wish you and Mr Sprocket all the best this and every year. I appreciate your blog work all the more, knowing how spread thin your time is and that you give up precious time elsewhere to report for us.
Will Bill Cosby be brought to trial? Be found guilty? Of what charges? Will he go to jail? Pay restitution? I think so, but it will be a long time in the making. His is a convoluted and complicated case, spanning years and probably many states. I admit I haven't read every detail of the cases, but I got the feeling that the incidents happened in various locations which I translated as multiple states. It's a shame that his victims had to out themselves in public forums, subjecting themselves to the scrutiny of others, to begin to achieve justice.
He's already begun taking counter-measures to evade charges by suing several of his accusers. I can imagine he will contest charges, challenge the summoning court's jurisdiction and create as many delays as possible. I see a debilitating illness or condition in his near future that will be brought up as an attempt to declare him unfit to stand trial.
Inevitably, he will be tried and found guilty of some of these charges, but likely not all. What a disgrace!
Cereusle:
Thank you. Real life has taken over. I have some other responsibilities going on, and I haven't had much time to devote to T&T as I would like.
Bill Cosby Arrest.
Here is what I know about the criminal case against Cosby that was filed at the end of December.
It was filed in Montgomery County, PA; I'm not that familiar with the laws in PA as I am in California. Never the less there are some general assumptions I can make.
(First, I'm hoping that Montgomery County judges are more welcoming to cameras in the courtroom than the 9th Floor courts are in downtown Los Angeles.)
Second, it appears the Montgomery Co. DA's office was the one who issued the arrest warrant, since the People Mag. article mentions that office spoke at a press conference, and that it was the DA's office who reopened the investigation.
From what I've read so far, it doesn't appear that the DA's office went to a grand jury to get an indictment. IF THAT'S THE CASE, I believe that there will be a preliminary hearing where a portion of the evidence will be present to a judge, to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed with trial. If I'm right, then we will have a mini trial before the actual trial. If I'm wrong, and there was a grand jury, then the case goes straight to trial.
Third. From what I've read, Andrea Constand was the first or, one of the first to go to the police and file charges. At the time of the alleged assault, she was in a relationship with another woman.
IN MY OPINION, it's going to be more of an uphill battle for Cosby's defense to argue to a jury, that the victim was a willing participant to have sex with Cosby, since she is gay and was in a relationship with a woman.
Side Note.
There has been quite a bit of reporting on the talking heads cable news shows, about Cosby's wife being ordered to sit for a deposition. People are confused about this, because they think his wife is protected by spousal privledge. The explanation is, the deposition of Cosby's wife is not in relation to the CRIMINAL case, but one of the CIVIL cases filed against Cosby.
In civil cases, the spousal privilege is not as cut and dried as it is in criminal cases.
Since the filing of the criminal case, it's very likely that Cosby's attorneys will file motions in the civil case(s), to stop all proceedings (and depositions) until the resolution of the criminal case. I've seen that time and time again in California, and I would not be surprised if it happens in PA.
Other uncharged bad acts.
As far as other victims testifying, it remains to be seen. In California, other uncharged bad acts can be introduced at trial, if they meet certain, strict criteria. In CA Penal Code, it's called 1101(b). A case that had several other uncharged bad acts presented at trial was the Phil Spector trial. Other witnesses came forward who testified that when they were alone with Spector, and Spector became amorous or angry, he pulled a gun on them.
Jerry Sandusky was convicted in PA, but his case went to a grand jury in a different county. Still, the laws governing that case, will be the same laws covering the Cosby case.
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