Cosby’s 2005 deposition and its path to the public eye

One of the key parts of the prosecution’s criminal case against Bill Cosby in Norristown this month was the reading of his own words from a deposition taken in 2005.

Back then, the case was a civil one but centered on the same allegations: that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand in his Cheltenham home in 2004.

That civil case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money, and the deposition was sealed from the public.

It was unsealed in 2015 after a nearly ten year effort by The Associated Press.  AP reporter Maryclaire Dale was part of that effort.  She spoke with Morning Edition Host Jennifer Lynn about how the deposition paved the way for criminal charges, its use in court, and her work to unseal it.