The 'due process violation' behind the overturned Cosby conviction
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the sexual assault conviction of Bill Cosby on Wednesday — but only because of a very, very specific set of legal circumstances.
The court's decision does not address "Cosby's conduct but rather the 'vast' violation of due process" he faced in the legal proceedings, NBC News' Tom Winter reports. In other words, the ruling "does not mean the sexual assault Cosby was convicted for did not take place," as MSNBC's Joyce Vance notes. "It's a technical legal decision based on conduct by the DA."
The crux of Wednesday's ruling rests on a prosecutor's earlier decision not to charge Cosby in what the district attorney deemed an "unwinnable case," which allowed the comedian to "speak freely" in a civil case against him, per Forbes and NBC News. The agreement was apparently intended to keep Cosby from pleading the Fifth Amendment. That testimony, however, "was key in his conviction years later by another prosecutor." Such an "unconstitutional coercive bait-and-switch" meant that, in the court's opinion, Cosby therefore could not legally be charged in the sexual assault case.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Having identified a due process violation here, we must ascertain the remedy to which Cosby is entitled," the court writes in its opinion, which ruled in addition that testimonies from five other accusers further tainted the comedian's trial.
Wednesday's decision also means that Cosby cannot be tried again "on the same charges," per NBC News, but new charges could be filed "in a case involving another accuser," NBC10 Philadelphia notes. He is set to be picked up from prison on Wednesday by his publicist Andrew Wyatt, ABC News reports.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Inside Marseille's deadly drug wars
The Explainer Teenage hitmen recruited through social media are lured by money and gang 'brand'
By The Week UK Published
-
A human foot found on Mount Everest is renewing the peak's biggest mystery
The discovery is reviving questions about who may have summited the mountain first
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: October 22, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published