The Bill Cosby Decision
I place the blame squarely on the initial prosecutor.
Preliminary opinion on the Cosby decision: the DA who *initially* handled the case was utterly incompetent, had no idea what he was doing, and cared more about his reputation than anything else.
— Patterico (@Patterico) June 30, 2021
I can perhaps talk about it at length when I have more time, but this quote tells you all you need to know:
The press release specifically cautioned the parties that the decision could be revisited, “District Attorney Castor cautions all parties to this matter that he will reconsider this decision should the need arise.” He testified that inclusion of this sentence, warning that the decision could be revisited, in the paragraph about a civil case and the use of the word “this,” was intended to make clear that it applied to the civil case and not to the prosecution. Mr. Castor testified that this sentence was meant to advise the parties that if they criticized his decision, he would contact the media and explain that Ms. Constand’s actions damaged her credibility, which would severely hamper her civil case. He testified that once he was certain a prosecution was not viable “I operated under the certainty that a civil suit was coming and set up the dominoes to fall in such a way that Mr. Cosby would be required to testify. ”He included the language “much exists in this investigation that could be used by others to portray persons on both sides of the issue in a less than flattering light,” as a threat to Ms. Constand and her attorneys should they attack his office.
What a scumbag and idiot.
They got their pound of flesh. Three years in prison and a $3.4 million settlement. That’s enough for a 83-year old man.
nk (1d9030) — 7/1/2021 @ 8:50 amI place the blame squarely on the initial prosecutor.
I place the blame squarely on William Henry Cosby Jr. =mike-drop=
___________
@1. Three years in prison and a $3.4 million settlement. That’s enough for a 83-year old man.
Adolf Eichmann could have been 83 in 1989.
Except they hanged the bastard in 1962.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 9:04 amThe real questions to Patterico are:
steveg (ebe7c1) — 7/1/2021 @ 9:47 amShould the DA be flogged? If so, publicly?
Oh. Wait. I think that just happened
I think a woman taking three blue bills a person other than her mother handed her is kind of like Maricopa County reusing the voting machines the Cyber Ninjas took. What do you think?
nk (1d9030) — 7/1/2021 @ 10:40 amAdolf Eichmann could have been 83 in 1989.
1. Godwin. You lose.
2. Are you seriously comparing Bill Cosby to Adolph Eichmann?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 7/1/2021 @ 10:48 amPatterico:
You castigate the prosecutor, but say nothing about the trial
judge – who allowed the case to be tried and go to the jury.
So, what about the trial judge?
And, it is my understanding that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
decision that reversed the Cosby conviction – was 4/3. So, what
about the 3 justices who disagreed?
And, what about the cops who LIE to a criminal suspect to
obtain a confession? So, the cops can LIE, but the prosecutors
can’t?
Finally, if Cosby was wrongly prosecuted/did not get a fair trial,
what about Derek Chauvin’s request for a Change of Venue being
denied? See Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966)
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/384/333/
The theme being sold to the public in the death of George Floyd,
was that he was in the custody/care of the police, and that Chauvin
and the other MPD offices did not care for him, etc., and that
we now are enlightened and must hold the police more accountable.
If that is true and so, then what happened re:
(1) the questionable shooting of Ashli Babbitt by the still
unnamed and still not properly investigated Capitol Police Officer?
(2) the death of Jeffrey Epstein – who was in the custody and care,
of the two (2) on duty federal correction officers – who violated their duties
by falling asleep and changing official logs – yet were not even
charged, escaping with a bogus DPA (Deferred Prosecution Agreement;
ironically recall that the scumbag Epstein escaped the 51 page
fed indictment that was not filed by the US Atty office Alex Acosta,
who allowed Epstein to escape with a DPA.
So much for holding the cops (the gov’t) accountable. See also:
U.S. v. Edwin P. Wilson, 289 F.Supp.2d 801 (USDC-SD, TX, 2003)
https://www.leagle.com/decision/20031090289fsupp2d80111004
Recall that one used to hear quite often, that America had the best legal
system in the world! Ya don’t hear that uttered much, if ever
anymore.
Liberty & Truth require constant vigilance. GLZ.
Gary L. Zerman (a1521c) — 7/1/2021 @ 10:50 amWhat a pile of whataboutism.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 7/1/2021 @ 11:16 amWhile the initial prosecutor set this up, the next guy rushed an indictment on the last day possible KNOWING that this issue lurked in the background. What steps did he take to resolve the issue? Claiming that his office is not responsible for the acts of his predecessor is bilge, and he must have known that.
Were decision made for optics, or “for justice!” or for political reasons even though they were patently extra legal? The Rule of Law is not supposed to bend for convenience or expedience.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 7/1/2021 @ 11:22 amDoes the fact that Cosby was guilty justify the corners cut?
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 7/1/2021 @ 11:24 amThis case would have made for a good episode of the Wire. It may, still.
felipe (484255) — 7/1/2021 @ 11:39 am@5. OJ was unavailable- he’s out playing golf.
Once again the ‘rule of law’ is ruled a joke.
… and Putin smiled.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 12:13 pmKevin M (ab1c11) — 7/1/2021 @ 11:24 am
No. Not just no but hell no. Not just hell no but … well maybe I should stop, get a relaxing beverage, and think about something else.
I also think we might have different definitions of guilty.
frosty (f27e97) — 7/1/2021 @ 1:07 pmKevin M at 8.
Not the next guy but the next gal (is that politically correct?). She’s now a judge.
https://www.inquirer.com/news/bill-cosby-conviction-overturned-appeal-andrea-constand-20210630.html
JoeH (f94276) — 7/1/2021 @ 1:32 pm@9. Re-victimizing the victims isn’t justice.
Castration is, 83 or not.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 1:35 pm#4
Did the Ninjas remove the bloatware that comes with the Windows 7 operating system?
How am I supposed to watch netflix while counting votes?
They paid millions for “state of the art” devices based on Windows 7.
steveg (ebe7c1) — 7/1/2021 @ 2:43 pmI guess “state of the art” remains true for the price tag… but at least take the time to strip out the netflix widget. 30 days in god forbid you are voting when your free subscriptions start to expire
Mr Cosby had been sentenced to “no less than 3 years and no more than 10 years” in prison, and was actually locked up for 2¾ years. At 83 years of age, infirm, and mostly blind, it seems likely that Mr Cosby would have been released, into probation, fairly soon anyway.
Except, of course, the #MeToo brigade would have protested, loudly, and the result would have been that a man who would normally have been released would have been kept locked up solely due to political pressure.
In the Keystone State, the only provisions for ‘compassionate release’ are that a prisoner must be both non-ambulatory and have a terminal diagnosis before they can be considered for compassionate release. The Commonwealth was struggling with this legal provision when they wanted to release some elderly prisoners in 2020 due to COVID-19. The local jails did, but it was very difficult for the state Department of Corrections. The Governor by himself does not have pardon or commutation power, and can only do so with prisoners referred to him by the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. While Governor Tom Wolf (D-PA) ordered DoC to institute a program which could have released 1,500 to 1,800 ‘non-violent’ prisoners, the implementation was slow, and Mr Cosby not included.
The libertarian, but not Libertarian, Dana (78a597) — 7/1/2021 @ 3:18 pmSame Castor who is the Bruce Castor who was Trump’s lawyer in the second impeachment. (No relation to Pollux.)
nk (1d9030) — 7/1/2021 @ 4:38 pmFollow up re #6 above.
Patterico, here is a link to Justice Saylor’s dissent in the Cosby case reversal.
https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Supreme/out/J-100-2020do%20-%20104821740139246963.pdf?cb=1
Granted, the initial prosecutor Castor could have performed his duties better (see especially dissent footnote 2). You characterized his performance: What a scumbag and idiot.
If you think Castor was a scumbag and idiot, What you think of the performance of the higly paid defense attorneys that Cosby had then – who never got an immunity agreement in writing and did not follow PA crim procedure [42 Pa.C.S. § 5947]?
Liberty & Truth require constant vigilance. GLZ.
Gary L. Zerman (a1521c) — 7/1/2021 @ 4:45 pmI’ll go along with Kevin M. If Castor declined to prosecute because he suspected that he could not get a conviction without the chicanery his successor and the trial judge indulged in, it does not make him a bad person.
nk (1d9030) — 7/1/2021 @ 4:53 pmJustice:
“Castrate him.” – DA Walter Chalmers [Robert Vaughn] ‘Bullitt’ 1968
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 5:35 pm@20-
Rip Murdock (d2a2a8) — 7/1/2021 @ 5:48 pmRobert Vaughn did not play a DA in Bullitt, he played a Senator. And the comment was metaphorical, referring to ending Bullitt’s freelance investigation (much like the Congressional Republicans).
@21. Guess you’ll just have to duke it out on the interweb, wontcha, Rip:
Bullitt – The Movie
http://www.joesherlock.com/Bullitt.html
Robert Vaughn was well suited to play the oily and ambitious district attorney, Walter Chalmers.
Bullitt (1968) directed by Peter Yates • Reviews, film …
letterboxd.com/film/Bullitt
Whilst Bullitt’s nemesis – Robert Vaughn’s shady DA – draws out the main theme of politics versus justice, ‘two sides of the street’, the details were murky.
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 7:36 pm@22. “It’s never explicitly said what Chalmers’ official title or position is; he mentions to Frank during their first meeting he wants Ross to testify in a Senate subcommittee hearing. This might imply he’s a politician, but it isn’t certain, since the waiter who tells him Frank has arrived calls him “Mr. Chalmers”. Either way, a random politician would not (or should not, legally) have the power to ask a police captain to assign detectives to guard someone. Near the end of the movie, Chalmers appears at the airport and tells Frank, who is waiting to apprehend Ross, that Ross is “still [his] witness”. This makes no sense – for someone to agree to testify in criminal proceedings as part of a deal or exchange in their own case, a deal would have to made in good faith with the office of the District Attorney, not some random politician; even if it turns out Chalmers actually was the DA, the deal was never made in good faith, since Renick was hired by Ross to impersonate him so he could escape to Rome; Ross never intended to testify.”
source – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062765/goofs
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/1/2021 @ 7:46 pmCastor viewed the initial case as likely to not succeed at that time, with little more than just the word of the victim whom reported the assault a year later after trying to shake down Cosby for a payoff.
With this in mind, Castor took the possibility of prosecution off the table so that Cosby could not invoke the Fifth during a civil trial. Which is what happened, and the deposition statements went poorly enough for Cosby that he settled the civil case. Castor allowed the victim to get at least some justice.
Years later, dozens of other Cosby victims show up after Hannibal Burress makes a joke about Cosby being a rapist and that video goes viral. Now, with other victims available and Cosby’s deposition from the civil case to verify those victims’ statements, a different DA brings Cosby to trial and wins.
Without the deposition statements, even with the other victims coming forward, the original criminal case is still bad. Does the Fifth amendment or the PA state constitution’s equivalent apply retroactively? Do public statements from offices of government officials have any legal ramifications?
Xmas (ca7d62) — 7/2/2021 @ 6:04 am@22-
Having just rewatched the movie, I know where of I speak:
Source
Since you made the assertion, I’ll duke it out with you.
Rip Murdock (cbadfd) — 7/2/2021 @ 7:54 amSame Castor who is the Bruce Castor who was Trump’s lawyer in the second impeachment.
That. Explains. A. Lot.
Kevin M (ab1c11) — 7/2/2021 @ 8:30 am@22. Imdb is our go-to industry source in Hollywood, Rip. Not Wikipedia. You’re windmilling; read:
“It’s never explicitly said what Chalmers’ official title or position is; he mentions to Frank during their first meeting he wants Ross to testify in a Senate subcommittee hearing. This might imply he’s a politician, but it isn’t certain, since the waiter who tells him Frank has arrived calls him “Mr. Chalmers”. Either way, a random politician would not (or should not, legally) have the power to ask a police captain to assign detectives to guard someone. Near the end of the movie, Chalmers appears at the airport and tells Frank, who is waiting to apprehend Ross, that Ross is “still [his] witness”. This makes no sense – for someone to agree to testify in criminal proceedings as part of a deal or exchange in their own case, a deal would have to made in good faith with the office of the District Attorney, not some random politician; even if it turns out Chalmers actually was the DA, the deal was never made in good faith, since Renick was hired by Ross to impersonate him so he could escape to Rome; Ross never intended to testify.”
DCSCA (f4c5e5) — 7/2/2021 @ 10:08 amsource – https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062765/goofs
Once the cruise ships get going again maybe Cosby can make a little money on the Senior comedy circuit… with the added bonus of being able to commit his favorite crimes offshore.
steveg (ebe7c1) — 7/2/2021 @ 8:14 pmWatch Netflix or HBO Max look the other way and book him for the ultimate stand-up special around November.
urbanleftbehind (c073c9) — 7/2/2021 @ 8:29 pm