By Lauren Victoria Burke
Kevin Steele, the prosecutor who put legendary actor and comedian Bill Cosby, 84, in jail in 2018, has filed an appeal to the United States Supreme Court to reinstate Cosby’s conviction.
Cosby was released on June 30 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that former prosecutor Bruce Castor’s decision not to prosecute in 2005 should have prevented Cosby from being charged in 2015.
“Unwilling to accept its epic loss in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Montgomery County District Attorney has now filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. In short, the Montgomery County D.A. asks the United States Supreme Court to throw the Constitution out the window, as it did, to satisfy the #metoo mob,” Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt said in reaction on November 29.
“There is no merit to the DA’s request which centers on the unique facts of the Cosby case and has no impact on important federal questions of law. The United States Supreme Court does not typically interfere with the rulings of a State’s high court unless it conflicts with the decisions of other state high courts or our federal court of appeals. This is a pathetic last-ditch effort that will not prevail. The Montgomery’s County’s DA’s fixation with Mr. Cosby is troubling to say the least,” Wyatt added.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision in the case that would later be overturned was brought forward by Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee, who alleged that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in a Philadelphia in 2004. Steele called the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s June 30 decision on Cosby, “a dangerous precedent.”
“A prosecution announcement not to file charges should not trigger due process protections against future criminal proceedings because circumstances could change, including new incriminating statements by the accused,” Steele argued.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling, which was 6-1, found that Cosby relied on his deal with Castor that he would not prosecute.
Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is a political analyst who appears regularly on #RolandMartinUnfiltered. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke
