Bill Cosby is out of prison and his conviction is overturned. Why? In 2005, then Montgomery District Attorney decided not to file charges against Bill Cosby for the alleged sexual assault against Andrea Constandt. He issued a press release stating that no criminal charges would be filed against Mr. Cosby. This decision not to criminally prosecute stripped away Mr. Cosby’s Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination when he was deposed in the civil case that Andrea Constandt filed against him. Mr. Cosby, relying on the promise of non- prosecution and compelled by a civil order to testify, incriminated himself in four separate civil depositions. Thereafter, despite the publicly issued promise of non-prosecution, the original district attorney’s successor filed criminal charges against Mr. Cosby and used his incriminating civil deposition testimony against him in a criminal trial resulting in a conviction. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that this violated Mr. Cosby’s fundamental due process rights. The court overturned his conviction barring any further prosecution of Mr. Cosby and ordered his immediate release.
