ANDREA CONSTAND

“I think the MeToo movement definitely gave predators pause to act on their inclinations,” she said. Cosby’s lawyers loudly derided her as a “con artist” during the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, in 2018. And that’s exactly how not to measure the success of the #MeToo movement, says Tarana Burke — as a scorecard of high-profile “wins” and “losses,” and through the lens of celebrity. Rather, says the advocate for sexual violence survivors, cultural change should be the key metric. Burke notes proudly that a new Pew study shows more than twice as many Americans support, rather than oppose, #MeToo.

Once again, disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein sits in a courtroom, on trial in Los Angeles while the reckoning the accusations against him launched marks a significant milestone this month.

Supreme Court People stand on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, Feb.11, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) (Mariam Zuhaib)WASHINGTON — (AP) — The Supreme Court said Monday it will not take up the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby, leaving in place a decision by Pennsylvania's highest court to throw out his conviction and set him free from prison. The high court declined prosecutors' request to hear the case and reinstate Cosby's conviction. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court last year threw out Cosby's conviction, saying the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby. A jury had previously deadlocked in Cosby's case, resulting in a mistrial in 2017.

A spokesperson for Bill Cosby says the 84-year-old comedian is considering a final standup tour after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not revive the sexual assault case against him.

A Los Angeles judge appears strongly inclined to allow Bill Cosby to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege and avoid giving a deposition in the lawsuit of a woman who alleges he sexually abused her when she was 15 in the mid-1970s.

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — A lawyer for Bill Cosby asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reject a bid by prosecutors to revive his criminal sex assault case. Cosby lawyer Jennifer Bonjean says the case rests on a narrow set of facts that should not interest the Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court accepts fewer than 1% of the petitions it receives. Legal scholars and victim advocates will be watching closely to see whether the Supreme Court takes an interest in the case. The Associated Press generally does not name alleged victims of sexual assault unless they speak publicly, as Constand has done.

Bill Cosby has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject a bid by prosecutors to revive his criminal sex assault case.

Experts say it is unlikely that the nation's top court will take up the petition given the highly unusual circumstances that led to Cosby being released.

The prosecutors who brought Cosby to a conviction in 2018 — and then saw him freed earlier this year — are asking the Supreme Court to throw out a state court's ruling.

Prosecutors have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.

Prosecutors asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to reinstate Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, complaining the verdict was thrown out over a questionable agreement that the comic claimed gave him lifetime immunity. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele called the court's decision “an indefensible rule," predicting an onslaught of criminal appeals if it is allowed to stand.

Bill Cosby Constand Memoir FILE - This combination of file photos shows Andrea Constand, left, walking to the courtroom during Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial June 6, 2017, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.; and Bill Cosby, right, arriving for his sexual assault trial June 16, 2017, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown. Cosby, after spending nearly three years in prison, walked free in June when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his 2018 conviction. Prosecutors in suburban Philadelphia must decide this month whether to appeal the decision to the U.S Supreme Court. “Now that I have weathered yet another strange turn in this long saga, I realize that I cannot let reversals like the (Pennsylvania) Supreme Court decision defeat me. As she waited for the jury decision in 2018, she writes, “The outcome of the trial seemed strangely unimportant.

Bill Cosby accuser Andrea Constand has penned a memoir out Tuesday that offers a view from her seat at the center of a high-profile #MeToo case.

A documentary featuring actor-comedian Bill Cosby has been shelved, according to a report. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on June 30 overturned the sexual assault conviction of Cosby, 83, due to an agreement made with a previous prosecutor that prevented him from being charged in the case. Lionsgate’s Bill Cosby Documentary Is Dead (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/EsCqqm05QY — Variety (@Variety) July 30, 2021A spokesperson for Lionsgate did not respond to Variety’s request for comment, nor did he answer questions about the project itself, such as who its producers and director were. Cosby was convicted in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to three to 10 years in prison. A jury decided that Cosby drugged and molested Andrea Constand, who then worked as the director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Phylicia Rashad tweeted her joy at co-star Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction being overturned.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Lawyers for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are arguing a court decision that freed Bill Cosby from prison backs up tossing out her sex trafficking case. In court papers filed on Friday, the lawyers said the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is in a “similar situation” as Cosby because both were covered by non-prosecution deals at the time they were charged in sex abuse cases. Cosby was convicted in 2018 on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, when she was a Temple University employee. He was released earlier this week after Pennsylvania's highest court found prosecutors violated his rights by reneging on an apparent promise not to charge him. The same principle applies to Maxwell’s case because she was covered by a non-prosecution agreement Epstein signed with federal prosecutors in Florida in the late 2000s, her lawyers said.

Lawyers for British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are arguing a court decision that freed Bill Cosby from prison backs up tossing out her sex trafficking case. In court papers filed on Friday, the lawyers said the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein is in a “similar situation” as Cosby because both were covered by non-prosecution deals at the time they were charged in sex abuse cases. Cosby was convicted in 2018 on charges of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004, when she was a Temple University employee.

Melinda Henneberger is disgusted that Bill Cosby evaded justice. But as we’ve seen time and again here in Wyandotte County, prosecutorial misconduct really deserves the blame.

"I made the correct decisions at the time and they still hold up today," former prosecutor Bruce Castor said Thursday.

I’m so conflicted.

Bill Cosby Bill Cosby reacts outside his home in Elkins Park, Pa., Wednesday, June 30, 2021, after being released from prison. “It probably would have been much better lawyering to get it all in writing,” Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson, a former prosecutor, said of the hidden deal in the Cosby case. “So (there are) good lessons for prosecutors and hard lessons for survivors.”The court heard arguments in December. On Wednesday, a majority of the justices, 6-1, found Cosby’s case should be overturned. Whatever their view of such blanket promises, the Supreme Court justices found that Cosby and his lawyers relied on it in giving the deposition.

The public outcry over Bill Cosby’s sudden release from prison, where he was serving a sentence for criminal sexual assault, was swift, with #MeToo activists worried it would have a chilling effect on sexual assault survivors.

The seven justices who reversed Bill Cosby’s conviction this week spent months debating whether he had a secret agreement with a prosecutor that tainted his 2018 criminal sexual assault conviction. In the end, Pennsylvania’s highest court ruled that a district attorney had induced Cosby to give incriminating testimony in 2005 for a lawsuit, with the promise that no criminal charges would be filed.

Phylicia Rashad has found herself embroiled in controversy after expressing public support for Bill Cosby’s release from prison, with some prominent Black voices calling for her dismissal as dean of Howard University's College of Fine Arts.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision Wednesday to vacate Bill Cosby's conviction stems from a 2005 agreement that gave Cosby immunity from criminal prosecution.

When Bill Cosby went to prison nearly three years ago, it was the most stunning development yet of the year-old #MeToo movement.

Cosby was released from prison on Wednesday after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned a sexual assault conviction.

Cosby was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee.

Cosby, 83, was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, at his home in 2004.

Visceral reactions to the news that Bill Cosby has been released from prison include shock from victims' advocates and MeToo activists to support from his friend and TV co-star Phylicia Rashad.

The US comedian leaves jail hours after a Pennsylvania court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Once a national treasure, the comedian was jailed for sexual assault but that conviction has now been overturned.

Bill Cosby was released from prison after Pennsylvania high court ruled the sex assault case against him violated an earlier deal with prosecutors.

Gilbert Carrasquillo/GettyAs nationwide anger erupted on Wednesday after Bill Cosby walked out of a Pennsylvania prison with his sexual-assault conviction overturned, legal experts were alternately aghast and numb to a signature villain of the MeToo Era slipping away.The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court vacated Cosby’s 2018 conviction on three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault after finding that a previous understanding with prosecutors should have prevented the charges from ever bein

Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Cosby’s sex assault conviction. Here's a look at the case against Cosby and the court's decision:WHY DID THE COURT TOSS HIS CONVICTION? The court concluded that prosecutor who later brought the charges was obligated to stick to the nonprosecution agreement, so the conviction cannot stand. The promise not to prosecute Cosby was made in 2005 by Bruce Castor, who was then the top prosecutor for Montgomery County. “If you add that qualifier, which wasn’t done in Cosby’s case, you should be good to go,” Oliver said.

Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction has been thrown out by Pennsylvania’s highest court, which ruled that he was unfairly prosecuted because a previous district attorney had promised he wouldn't be charged.

Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction was thrown out Wednesday by Pennsylvania's highest court in a ruling that swiftly freed the actor from prison more than three years after he was found guilty of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion. Cosby, 83, was the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era, and his conviction was seen as a turning point in the movement to hold powerful men accountable for sexual misconduct. The split court found that Cosby was unfairly prosecuted because the previous district attorney had promised the comedian once known as “America's Dad” that he wouldn't be charged over Constand's accusations.

Two agonizing truths about the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's decision

Cosby, 83, was convicted of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.

Bill Cosby FILE - In this April 26, 2018 file photo, actor and comedian Bill Cosby departs the courthouse after he was found guilty in his sexual assault retrial, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) (Matt Slocum)PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction. The state Supreme court said Wednesday that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby. “I am furious to hear this news,” actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Time’s Up, an advocacy group for victims of sexual assault, said in a Twitter post. The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.

As angry reactions lit up social media, Bill Cosby's costar Phylicia Rashad lauded the Philadelphia Supreme Court's decision to vacate his conviction.

The White House declined to comment on the imminent release of imprisoned comedian Bill Cosby after a Pennsylvania court overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction.

Cosby is set to walk free because of a deal he made with Bruce Castor, who was widely mocked over his performance in Trump's second impeachment trial.

A previous prosecutor had decided not to charge the legendary comic, and he relied on that move to speak freely and give incriminating statements.

The court found that his due process rights were violated when he was charged for a 2004 assault after previously being promised by prosecutors that they wouldn't bring criminal charges against him.

Bill Cosby FILE - In this April 26, 2018 file photo, actor and comedian Bill Cosby departs the courthouse after he was found guilty in his sexual assault retrial, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. Pennsylvania’s highest court has overturned comedian Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction. The court said Wednesday that they found an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File) (Matt Slocum)PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction Wednesday after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. The trial judge had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby’s first trial, when the jury deadlocked. The justices voiced concern not just about sex assault cases, but what they saw as the judiciary’s increasing tendency to allow testimony that crosses the line into character attacks.

Cosby has served more than two years of a three to 10-year sentence at a state prison.

Mark Makela/Getty ImagesThe first major criminal conviction of the #MeToo era fell apart on Wednesday, with former TV star Bill Cosby walking out of prison a free man.The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to vacate his 2018 conviction and sentence for sexual assault, finding that Cosby had been double-crossed by prosecutors who reneged on a public declaration not to prosecute him. At about 2:30 p.m., just two hours after the ruling, he walked out of SCI Phoenix, a state prison out

Bill Cosby to be released FILE PHOTO: Bill Cosby is taken away in handcuffs after being sentenced to 3-10 years in his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on September 25, 2018 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. In April, Cosby was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004 and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. 60 women have accused the 81 year old entertainer of sexual assault. (Photo by Mark Makela/Getty Images) (Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for sentencing in his sexual assault trial, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, September 24, 2018. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Bill Cosby's sex assault conviction, setting the stage for the release of the 83-year-old comedian later in the day. The state's highest court tossed Cosby's conviction as a result of an agreement he had with a prior prosecutor that would have prevented Cosby from being criminally charged in the case. Originally, the trial judge had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby's first trial. This testimony tainted the trial, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said, even though the lower appeals court had found it appropriate to show a pattern of behavior.

Bill Cosby has been freed from prison after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned his sexual assault conviction.

Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned Bill Cosby’s sex assault conviction Wednesday after finding an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented him from being charged in the case. Cosby has served more than two years of a three- to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia. The court said that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessor’s promise not to charge Cosby when he later gave potentially incriminating testimony in Constand's civil suit.

The 83-year-old has long said he would resist treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing.

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — Actor Bill Cosby won't be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania. The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence. This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction. Cosby is serving his sentence at SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County. The two had met at Temple, where Cosby long served on the board of trustees and was a frequent celebrity visitor to campus.

PHILADELPHIA — (AP) — Actor Bill Cosby won't be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania. The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence. This is the first year he was eligible for parole under the three- to 10-year sentence handed down after his 2018 conviction. Cosby is serving his sentence at SCI-Phoenix in Montgomery County. The two had met at Temple, where Cosby long served on the board of trustees and was a frequent celebrity visitor to campus.

Actor Bill Cosby has been denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania.

Actor Bill Cosby won't be paroled this year after refusing to participate in sex offender programs during his nearly three years in state prison in Pennsylvania. The 83-year-old Cosby has long said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it means serving the full 10-year sentence. Cosby spokesperson Andrew Wyatt called the decision “appalling” and said Cosby “vehemently proclaims his innocence.”

Cosby was convicted of the 2004 sexual assault of ex-Temple University employee Andrea Constand in his mansion. Entertainment legend Bill Cosby was recently denied parole at the Pennsylvania prison where he has been incarcerated since 2018 serving a three-to-10-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault. The Pennsylvania Parole Board denied the 83-year-old actor-comedian-producer based on “a number of reasons,” according to a CNN report.

He argued that Trump could not have — and would not have — encouraged the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “We’re really here because majority in the House of Representatives does not want to face Donald Trump as a political rival in the future. AdHis reemergence as an impeachment lawyer for Trump was a head-scratching moment for Pennsylvania's political and legal world. He had not campaigned for Trump, and a longtime friend, Brian Miles, told the Inquirer that the two men had never discussed Trump before Castor mentioned recently that he was up for the job. For all the criticism directed at him, Castor suggested that Trump did not criticize his performance.

Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear his appeal of the conviction on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020. The arguments will focus on the trial judge's decision to let five other accusers testify for the prosecution. Cosby, 83, hopes to overturn his 2018 sex assault conviction because the judge let prosecutors call five other accusers who said Cosby mistreated them the same way he did his victim, Andrea Constand. Judge Steven T. O'Neill had allowed just one other accuser to testify at Cosby's first trial in 2017, when the jury could not reach a verdict. O'Neill then let five other accusers testify at Cosby's retrial in 2018, when the jury convicted him of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand.

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will hear Bill Cosby's appeal of his felony sex assault conviction on Dec. 1. A lower appeals court had upheld his conviction, but the state's high court agreed this year to review two key issues in the case. The high court will also consider whether the jury should have heard evidence that Cosby had given quaaludes to women in the past. Dozens of women have come forward over the years to accuse Cosby of sexual assault, and the trial judge deemed him a sexually violent predator. The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.

PHILADELPHIA – Legal advocates are lining up on both sides of actor Bill Cosby’s appeal as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court prepares to review his 2018 sex assault conviction. Cosby was the first celebrity to go on trial in the #MeToo era, and his appeal could resolve lingering questions about how the cases should be tried. Public defenders in Philadelphia, in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in Cosby's appeal, noted that courts have given conflicting guidance on the issue. The other groups filing legal briefs in the appeal include the Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association. Cosby’s trial judge, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill, said their testimony did just that, even if it occurred a decade or two before Constand's encounter.

PHILADELPHIA Bill Cosbys lawyers argued in an appeals filing Thursday that it was fundamentally unfair to let prosecutors use Cosbys damaging deposition from a sex accusers lawsuit against him at trial. A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County district attorney's office declined comment but said prosecutors would file a response in the coming month. Cosby, 83, is serving a three- to 10-year prison term after the jury in his 2018 sex assault trial convicted him of three counts of felony sex assault over a 2004 encounter with accuser Andrea Constand. Fundamental fairness and principles of due process mean that promise was binding on Montgomery County prosecutors, Cosbys lawyers argued. In June, Pennsylvanias highest court agreed to review those two issues, overturning a lower court that had rejected Cosbys appeal.

___Constand knew Cosby from her job at Temple University, where Cosby was a booster, alumnus and longtime trustee twice her age. (She thought she was taking a homeopathic supplement; Cosby later said it was Benadryl, while acknowledging he once gave a 19-year-old Quaaludes before sex.) A decade later, Black comedian Hannibal Buress took Cosby to task for his scolding. You rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches," he said onstage in 2014. She also believes that racial bias exists in the criminal justice system.

PHILADELPHIA In a stunning decision that could test the legal framework of #MeToo cases, comedian Bill Cosby has won the right to fight his 2018 sexual assault conviction in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Cosby has said he relied on that agreement before agreeing to testify in the trial accuser's civil lawsuit. Those issues have been at the heart of the case since Cosby was charged in December 2015, days before the 12-year state of limitations expired. Montgomery County Judge Stephen O'Neill allowed just one of them to testify at Cosby's first trial in 2017, which ended with an acquittal. The Associated Press typically does not name people who say they have been victims of sexual assault without their permission, which Constand has granted.

(Reuters) - Lawyers for Bill Cosby on Thursday asked the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania to hear his appeal of his 2018 sexual assault conviction, a month after a lower court rejected their argument that the disgraced comedian did not get a fair trial. FILE PHOTO: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse after his first day of sentencing hearings in his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 24, 2018. The Pennsylvania court is not obligated to take up the appeal, a copy of which was provided by Cosbys spokesman. Stacey Witalec, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, confirmed that Cosby had requested an appeal, but it was not immediately clear when the court would make a decision on whether it will consider it. Cosbys latest appeal comes days after a rape trial for former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein opened in New York.

(Reuters) - A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday dismissed Bill Cosbys bid to overturn his 2018 sex assault conviction, rejecting his lawyers argument that a judge deprived the comedian of a fair trial by allowing other accusers to testify. Cosbys spokesman Andrew Wyatt said Cosby would appeal the conviction in the State Supreme Court. Our personal battle against clear, racist, incestuous vindictiveness, within the Pennsylvania criminal justice systems, is not over, Camille Cosby, the entertainers wife, said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: Actor and comedian Bill Cosby is seen in this booking photo released by Montgomery County Correctional Facility, Maryland U.S., September 25, 2018. Courtesy Montgomery County Correctional Facility/Handout via REUTERSCosbys lawyers took issue with Montgomery County Judge Steven ONeills decision to allow testimony from five other accusers whose claims were too old to lead to criminal charges.

The same issue was hard-fought in pretrial hearings before movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial. "Here, the (prior bad act) evidence established appellant's unique sexual assault playbook," the court said, noting that "no two events will ever be identical." They had an unlimited budget," said Superior Court Judge John T. Bender, who questioned whether any court would have approved the deal. Superior Court Judge John Bender appeared to agree with O'Neill's logic in letting some take the stand. The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.

The same issue was hard-fought in pretrial hearings before movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault trial. "Here, the (prior bad act) evidence established appellant's unique sexual assault playbook," the court said, noting that "no two events will ever be identical." They had an unlimited budget," said Superior Court Judge John T. Bender, who questioned whether any court would have approved the deal. Superior Court Judge John Bender appeared to agree with O'Neill's logic in letting some take the stand. The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.