Bill Cosby sex abuse scandal

[The Minsky Moment]

And yes the DA who issued the stupid press release was the same idiot that represented Trump at his least Senate impeachment trial. 

[alfred russel]

Bill Cosby walked out of prison, got on a bus, and rode it to a long rock wall. Next to a big oak, he found a letter. He is following it to Mexico where he will meet Epstein working on his boat.

[The Minsky Moment]

Jonathan Turley came out and said the court is "clearly correct" - so we have an additional indicator that the court got it completely wrong.

[The Minsky Moment]

Other shoes already dropping fast

The attorney of Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has said that the case against her should be thrown on on the same legal grounds as those used to free accused rapist Bill Cosby.

"She should not have to fight her case at trial and her case should be thrown out, just like Cosby's has been, because prosecutors promised Epstein when he pleaded guilty that they would not prosecute her," Maxwell's appellate counsel, David Oscar Markus, wrote in a Daily News op-ed published Wednesday.

Markus' comment refers to a 2007 plea deal that Epstein struck with federal prosecutors in Miami. The deal stated that, in exchange for Epstein's pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution (rather than child sex trafficking), the U.S. attorney's office would "not institute any criminal charges against potential co-conspirators of Epstein."

From https://www.newsweek.com/bill-cosby-ruling-shows-why-ghislaine-maxwell-should-freed-her-lawyer-says-1605828

Fortunately there is hope that not every state supreme court will be as confused as PA is.

[Jacob]

What are the chances that Cosby goes back to prison?

[alfred russel]

I think if I was Bill Cosby I'd consider taking this opportunity to move to a country without an extradition treaty, and possibly as much money as I could out of US bank accounts (possibly into cash).

[Solmyr]

In before he gets offered Russian citizenship by Putin.

[The Minsky Moment]

What are the chances that Cosby goes back to prison?

You'd have to look at the statute of limitations that apply to all the other victims and incidents.
Probably not good.

[merithyn]

What are the chances that Cosby goes back to prison?

You'd have to look at the statute of limitations that apply to all the other victims and incidents.
Probably not good.

As I understand it, he was brought up on charges in the final days of the statute of limitations. So next to none for the current spate of women (all 40+ of them) who accused him.

[jimmy olsen]

Can the state appeal to the US Supreme Court, or is the state court as high as it goes?

[ulmont]

Can the state appeal to the US Supreme Court, or is the state court as high as it goes?

The answer, as usual, depends on why the state court made their decision.  If it rested purely on an interpretation of the Pennsylvania constitution or law, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the ultimate authority.  If it rested on an interpretation of the US Constitution (or if the relevant PA constitutional provision has been interpreted previously by PA courts as "same as the US Constitution") then it could go to the Supreme Court of the United States.  I haven't gotten sufficiently into the weeds of the decision to tell you, but the odds are no, it can't be appealed.

[grumbler]

Can the state appeal to the US Supreme Court, or is the state court as high as it goes?

On what grounds could they appeal the PA Supreme Court's ruling on PA state law?  Governments don't have rights protected by the US Constitution.

[viper37]

Can the state appeal to the US Supreme Court, or is the state court as high as it goes?

The answer, as usual, depends on why the state court made their decision.  If it rested purely on an interpretation of the Pennsylvania constitution or law, then the Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the ultimate authority.  If it rested on an interpretation of the US Constitution (or if the relevant PA constitutional provision has been interpreted previously by PA courts as "same as the US Constitution") then it could go to the Supreme Court of the United States.  I haven't gotten sufficiently into the weeds of the decision to tell you, but the odds are no, it can't be appealed.

If there was a situation where a State's Constitution conflicts with a amendment to the US Constitution, or with a new Federal law, is that up to the US Supreme Court to rule on it?

[The Minsky Moment]

A state constitution can provide for greater procedural protections then the federal constitution but not less.

It's hard to say to what extent the PA ruling for Cosby was based on state vs federal law because the opinion is a real mess of legal draftsmanship and the reasoning is unclear.  The core basis of the opinion seems to be the principle of promissory estoppel - which is a contract law idea governed by state law - but the alleged promise is significant because of its effect on Cosby's federal constitutional rights under the 5th amendment.

If a state conviction is overturned by an appeals court, the state can appeal that up to the highest court of the state without creating double jeopardy problems.  However, if the state's highest court rules against the prosecution, I don't know if the state can appeal to the USSC, even if it involves a question of federal law. A defendant in the analogous situation could go to the federal system on a writ of habeas or under some circumstances for directly to the Supreme Court but I don't know if the state can.