Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 for drug use and sexual assault of Andrea Constand at his Pennsylvania home in 2004. He was sentenced to terms ranging from three to 10 years in a state prison.
He was released from prison in June after the state Supreme Court overturned his sexual assault conviction on the grounds that his rights to due process had been violated. Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices said in their view that the former Montgomery County District Attorney’s decision not to prosecute Cosby in 2005 in exchange for his civil testimony was ultimately used against him in court.
In a statement on behalf of Cosby and his family, publicist Andrew Wyatt praised the judges “for upholding the rule of law and protecting the constitutional rights of ALL American citizens.”
“Mr. Cosby’s constitutional rights were the ‘reprehensible lure’ of Kevin Steele, Judge Steve T. O’Neill and their associates,” Wyatt said. “This is indeed a victory for Mr. Cosby, but it shows that fraud will never get you very far in life, and the corruption that lies at the Montgomery County Attorney’s office has been put in the spotlight of the world.”
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s office, which handled the high-profile legal case against Cosby, said in November that the main issue of the appeal centers around the 14th Amendment and the right to due process.
“The question before the Court is: “If the prosecutor publicly announces that he will not file criminal charges on the basis of lack of evidence, does the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment turn that statement into a binding promise that no charges will ever be filed? ? filed, a promise on which the target can rely, as if it were granting immunity?” the release reads.
District Attorney Kevin Steele said in a statement that the decision could have “far-reaching negative consequences” for the entire country.
The judges on Monday rejected the motion to hear the case without comment.
Jennifer Bonjean, Cosby’s attorney, urged the court not to interfere.
“Based on the unique facts of the case, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court concluded that [the former district attorney] made an unconditional promise not to prosecute, and that Cosby relied on that promise to his detriment, namely by waiving his Fifth Amendment guarantees and testifying within four days of testimony, and that, on the basis of fundamental fairness, the promise should be cited in execution,” she said.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Taylor Romine of CNN contributed to this report.