Bill Cosby Lawyers to Appeal Decision to Take Assault Case to Trial

A woman who has accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting her will not have to testify before his trial in a preliminary hearing.

A crush of reporters, photographers and camera crews outside the Montgomery County courthouse covered the arrival of Mr Cosby, 78, whose lawyers will argue that the accuser, Andrea Constand, should be required to testify and answer questions from the defence before the case is permitted to proceed to trial. The comedian returned to court in Norristown, Pennsylvania today, where his lawyers will appeal the decision to send the case against him to trial.

“Once again the Prosecution had the opportunity and the obligation to place Mr. Cosby’s accuser under oath so that we can search for the truth but they refused”, the statement read.

The statement continued, “Today a man who has meant so much to so many; a man who has given so much to so many; has had his constitutional rights trampled on”.

Bill Cosby appeared Thursday in a Pennsylvania courtroom for a hearing on whether he should have been allowed to confront his accuser at a preliminary hearing before a judge ruled he should stand trial on a sex assault charge.

But Judge Steven T. O’Neill said that a 2013 change in state court rules cleared the way for prosecutors to use those statements and other evidence in lieu of forcing Constand to take the witness stand before trial.

A judge in Pennsylvania has denied a last-ditch effort by Bill Cosby’s lawyers to have criminal sexual assault charges dismissed.

Constand, a former basketball star who worked at Cosby’s alma mater, Temple University, claims that he drugged and molested her at his nearby Pennsylvania home in 2004.

They also considered the dozens of other women who have raised similar claims in the decade since Ms Constand went to police in 2005.

Even so, Cosby’s attorneys were pointing out that the Ricker ruling is now under appeal at the state Supreme Court, but some experts believe it’s a firm rule and it will stand.

Prosecutors chose not to have Constand testify at the May preliminary hearing, citing a 2015 state Superior Court ruling that allows hearsay testimony at that stage to spare accusers from repeated court appearances. Constand told police the drugs left her semi-conscious and unable to move. Cosby had sought the hearing or dismissal of charges, according to the AP. Her lawyers believe Cosby gave her something stronger than Benadryl. During his remarks to the judge, Steele compared what happened on the night of the alleged incident to “date rape”.

“We shouldn’t just be relying on what someone said someone said”, Christopher Tayback, another Cosby attorney, argued.

The man once known as America’s Dad for his beloved portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his top-ranked 1980s TV show is fighting Constand and other accusers in civil court, where he has been sued for defamation.

Tayback emphasized that Cosby didn’t force Constand to take either the pills he gave her or the wine.

Cosby has denied Constand’s allegations and insists that the sexual contact between them had been consensual.