Bill Cosby in court to renew bid to force accuser to testify
Bill Cosby has returned to a Pennsylvania criminal court as the comedian's lawyers mounted their latest attempt to have the sexual assault case against him thrown out.
Cosby’s lawyers insist a trial should not be held until his accuser, Andrea Constand, gets on the stand and they get a chance to cross-examine her.
Prosecutors in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, chose not to call Constand as a witness at a preliminary hearing in May. Instead, two police detectives who took her statement in 2005 testified as to what she told them at the time.
Cosby's attorney, Christopher Tayback, said there was nothing in the record to suggest Constand is unavailable to testify.
He argued that the statement read during the preliminary hearing was taken so long ago that the officer who recorded it had no recollection of it, and therefore should not stand in for the witness herself
"There are important things that happen before someone goes to trial," he added. "A witness can say, 'That's not right.' A witness can recant. A witness can say, 'I never said that.'"
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However, Deputy District Attorney Robert Falin said since witness credibility is not an issue in a preliminary hearing, there's no reason to put an accuser on the stand.
"It's our position we're not going to re-traumatize victims," Falin said.
The judge overseeing the May hearing rejected the position of Cosby's lawyers that it violated his rights, citing a recent state appeals court ruling that victims do not have to testify in person at preliminary hearings.
Cosby, once one of the most beloved US entertainers, is facing accusations of sexual assault from dozens of women stretching back decades.
The Pennsylvania case is the only criminal prosecution against him, as most of the other allegations involve incidents that are too old to produce charges.
A crush of reporters, photographers and camera crews gathered outside the Montgomery County courthouse to cover the arrival of 78-year-old.
Cosby, wearing a pinstriped jacket and using a cane as he arrived at the courthouse, has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed his 2004 encounter with Constand as consensual.
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- With AFP
