The prosecutors in the case against Bill Cosby called the disgraced comedian’s efforts for a new trial “meritless” and “timeworn” Friday.
Back on Oct. 8, Cosby’s attorneys filed an appeal, asking for a new trial because they believe Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O’Neill should have recused himself from the case. They believe O’Neill sentenced Cosby without considering his age, health, lack of criminal history.
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“This is a timeworn case, and defendant has had his many days, months, and years in court,” Montgomery County District attorney Kevin Steele and Deputy DA Robert Falin wrote in papers submitted Friday, reports Page Six. “The claims he raises in his post-sentence motion do not warrant evidentiary development, several have already been rejected, and they are all meritless. It is time to move on; it is time for the appellate courts to bring this case one step closer to finality.”
On Sept. 25, Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison after he was convicted in April for drugging and assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004. O’Neill also designated Cosby a “Sexually Violent Predator.” The former Cosby Show star is doing his time at State Correctional Institution Phoenix in Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors argued Friday that O’Neill came up with his sentence after considering Cosby’s likelihood of re-offending after listing him as a “Sexually Violent Predator.”
“[Cosby’s] dissatisfaction with the length of his sentence does not provide him with a basis for relief,” the prosecutors wrote. They also accused Cosby’s attorneys of just bringing up old arguments against O’Neill that were already argued as not reason enough for the judge to recuse himself.
“His attorneys could have objected if they thought it was a problem, but they did not. Of course, counsel cannot allege their own ineffectiveness,” the prosecutors said.
Cosby’s attorneys also claimed they discovered that a piece of audio evidence used in the trial was doctored. In their response Friday, the prosecutors said the defendant had known about the tape being incomplete since 2005 and Cosby’s civil attorney acknowledged that during Cosby’s deposition.
“Thus, by any stretch of the imagination, defendant has not exercised reasonable diligence by waiting more than thirteen years to raise this issue,” the Friday motion reads, reports Deadline. “He cannot sit on his hands during years of pre-trial and trial proceedings, then decide after being convicted and obtaining new counsel that evidence he’s had all along should be examined by an expert. That is not an after-discovered evidence claim; it is an ineffectiveness claim, where new lawyers second-guess the prior defense team and try something new, since their client has nothing to lose.”
More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct ot assault. Many of them claim Cosby drugged them with pills and alcohol. However, many of those women – some of whom attended the trial in Pennsylvania – came forward long after the statute of limitations expired. Before the two trials, Cosby had previously reached a once-confidential settlement out of court with Constand.
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