Bill Cosby’s Appeal of Sexual Assault Conviction to Be Heard by Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Cosby is serving out a three- to 10-year prison sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting a woman

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear out Bill Cosby’s appeal over his 2018 sexual assault conviction.

Last year, a Pennsylvania appeals court upheld Cosby’s conviction, rejecting his legal team’s argument that he wasn’t given a fair trial. But in an order issued on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said it would consider whether the trial judge should not have allowed the five “prior bad acts” witnesses to testify, as well as whether the judge should not have allowed Cosby’s deposition from a civil lawsuit to be used in the trial after Cosby said he was promised by a district attorney that he wouldn’t be prosecuted for those oral and written statements.

“We’re extremely thankful to the State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for agreeing to review Mr. Cosby’s appeal,” Andrew Wyatt, a representative for Cosby, said in a statement sent to TheWrap. “As we have all stated, the false conviction of Bill Cosby is so much bigger than him — it’s about the destruction of ALL Black people and people of color in America. We’re extremely thankful to our attorneys (Brain Perry, Jennifer Bonjean & Barbara Zemlock) for their tenacious efforts in fighting for the vindication of Mr. Cosby.”

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has narrowed the issues on appeal, limiting them to prior bad acts and the sovereign edict,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, who prosecuted Cosby at both of his trials, said. “We look forward to briefing and arguing these issues and remain confident in the Trial Court and Superior Court’s previous decisions.”

Cosby is serving out a three- to 10-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2018 of drugging and sexually assaulting a former Temple University employee, Andrea Constand, at his home in 2004.

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