Innocent Until Proven Guilty Is Like Two All Beef Patties

3News Legal Analyst Stephanie Haney breaks down the issues Cosby's legal team will contend during his appeal of his felony sexual assault conviction

Legal Analysis: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania granted Bill Cosby an appeal of his felony sexual assault conviction, opening the door for review of 2 issues that were raised during his criminal trial.

Cosby, 82, was convicted in 2018 on three felony counts of sexual assault for the 2004 drugging and molestation of Andrea Constand, now 47, who publicly came forrard against Cosby.

In a nigh 300-page brief, Cosby's lawyers argued for multiple issues to be brought upwardly on appeal, and two of those issue were granted review past the highest land court in Pennsylvania, where the actions that gave rise to his conviction took place.

The two issues that the court will consider include whether allowing evidence in of prior statements fabricated by Cosby amounted to violating his constitutional right against self-incrimination coupled with whether a bargain that Cosby said he had non to be prosecuted was bounden, and besides whether allowing other Cosby accusers to testify at trial improperly turned the jury against him.

Event 1: Did Cosby rely on a bargain non to be prosecuted when he made incriminating statements, and should those statements accept been discussed at trial?

Cosby's publicist Andrew Wyatt called his client's conviction a "simulated conviction," but at least function of Cosby's appeal isn't based on challenge he is innocent. It's actually counter-intuitive to the thought that Cosby did not commit the acts for which he now sits in prison.

The first issue to exist taken upwards on appeal is based in part on Cosby making statements that he feels incriminated him, that he says should not have been discussed at trial.

Cosby'due south legal team will argue that the trial judge improperly allowed in testimony about a civil courtroom degradation (which is a sworn argument under adjuration) that Cosby gave before his criminal trial where he admitted to giving women drugs before sexual encounters. Cosby contends he was promised past an earlier commune attorney that he would non exist prosecuted, so he felt free to answer questions during that degradation.

Those statements being introduced at trial brings up the question of whether that violates his constitutional right confronting self-incrimination. However, Cosby could take invoked his right against self incrimination during that degradation, then that may be a tough issue to win for his legal team.

The other aspect of this event is whether whatever declared bargain with the previous district attorney was binding, and in that location never should have been a criminal trial in the first place. That question is more complicated.

Issue two: Should other Cosby accusers have been allowed to testify at his trial about allegations that were never tried in a courtroom of police?

The 2d issue to be addressed on appeal is whether the trial judge's decision to permit other accusers to evidence about allegations against Cosby was more prejudicial than probative, meaning whether it did more to harm Cosby simply past suggestion than information technology did to help the jury past providing valuable testify.

We usually encounter additional accusers testify at sentencing after a conviction, but that was non allowed in Cosby's case, fifty-fifty though they did evidence at trial.

At present, Cosby'due south attorneys will argue here that allowing that testimony took away the presumption of innocence in the jury's mind, and as nosotros all know, here in the United States (at to the lowest degree in theory) we are all assumed innocent until proven guilty.

Cosby'southward futurity following the appeal of his sexual assail conviction

If successful in his appeal, Cosby could exist granted a new trial where one or both of these pieces of bear witness may not exist admitted into the record.

As of now, the disgraced histrion has already had two trials, because his first trial ended in a mistrial when the jury couldn't concur on a verdict. During his second trial in 2018, he was convicted, and is now serving a three-to-x-twelvemonth sentence in state prison.

Cosby will likely remain in country custody throughout this entreatment, but if successful, he could exist granted release awaiting a new trial. Wyatt told Us TODAY on Tuesday that this case is about more than than his client.

"The false conviction of Neb Cosby is so much bigger than him — it'due south well-nigh the destruction of ALL Blackness people and people of color in America," he said. "We're extremely thankful to our attorneys for their tenacious efforts in fighting for the vindication of Mr. Cosby."

Stephanie Haney is licensed to practice law in both Ohio and California.

The information in this commodity is provided for general informational purposes only. None of the information in this article is offered, nor should it be construed, every bit legal communication on whatever thing.

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Source: https://www.wkyc.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/whats-new/breaking-down-bill-cosbys-appeal-of-his-2018-sexual-assault-conviction/95-08aa6c19-f1b4-4bca-8a6c-2714663bb388

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