Cosby lawyers appeal use of hearsay at preliminary hearing
Bill Cosby enters court in Elkins Park
Bill Cosby’s lawyers are challenging the use of hearsay evidence at his recent preliminary hearing on sex assault charges and say Pennsylvania prosecutors are trying to “win at all costs.”
The lawyers argue in a petition Wednesday that accuser Andrea Constand should have been called to testify so they could have questioned her last month.
Prosecutors instead used statements she and Cosby made to police before a judge upheld the charges and sent the case to trial.
The state Superior Court has ruled that hearsay testimony can be used at preliminary hearings. But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to review the issue.
Cosby considers the 2004 encounter with Constand consensual. Prosecutors say Constand was drugged and molested.
The defense petition seeks to have the charges dropped or another preliminary hearing scheduled.
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