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Abstract: 

In July 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Bill Cosby for sexual assault. (Pennsylvania v. William Henry Cosby Jr., 39 MAP 2020 (J-100-2020, June 30, 2021). Despite the overwhelming evidence against the celebrity and compelling testimony of witnesses and victims in the criminal trial, the state supreme court vacated the conviction, ruling that the press release issued by DA Castor stating that Cosby would not be criminally prosecuted had induced him to make admissions during the civil case that described his criminal sexual assaults, and the later use of incriminating evidence from the civil case to secure a criminal conviction violated his constitutional rights. This article comprehensively reviews the facts and testimony given in the original trial, the appellate arguments that led to the reversal of the trial court’s conviction, and the implications of this decision for sex crime prosecutions going forward.

Keywords: Pennsylvania v. William Henry Cosby Jr.; No-Prosecution Arrangement

Affiliations:  1: Editor.