NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A judge Thursday shot down Bill Cosby’s latest attempt to have his sexual assault case dismissed, ruling the case could move forward without pretrial testimony from accuser Andrea Constand.
In explaining his ruling from the bench, Montgomery County Court Judge Steven T. O’Neill described “as perfectly proper” the decision by prosecutors not to call Constand as a witness at the May hearing in which the 78-year-old entertainer was ordered to stand trial. Instead, they relied on the statement Constand gave to police when she first reported her alleged assault 11 years ago.
“The commonwealth does not have to present live evidence at preliminary hearings,” the judge said. “This case shall proceed to trial.”
Cosby’s attorneys had urged O’Neill to throw out the case, saying Cosby’s rights had been irrevocably violated by losing his opportunity to confront Constand in court before his trial on charges of indecent aggravated assault.
“Today, someone who has given so much to so many had his constitutional rights trampled upon again,” his attorney, Brian J. McMonagle, said after the hearing. “Once again, the prosecution in this case had the opportunity and the obligation to place this witness under oath so we could conduct a search for the truth. And, once again, they failed to do so.”
The argument was the latest effort from Cosby’s legal team to fight off the sole criminal case to emerge from allegations from dozens of women who say Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them.
O’Neill issued his ruling after a three-hour hearing in Norristown, where Cosby at times looked distracted as the arguments of each side quickly became mired in legal arcana and close readings of codes of criminal procedure.
Cosby owns a home in Shelburne, Mass.