Understanding the crime picture

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
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DateUnderstanding the Crime Picture
The case that forms the basis of this assignment is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v William Henry Cosby Jr. The case was heard in the State of Pennsylvania by Judge Steven O’Neill (The State of Pennsylvania 1). The matter was unique not because of the personality involved or the media coverage, but by the evidence presented in court and the time lapse there had been following the crime. In addition to that, the gravity of the allegations since the allegations raised were considered and ranked most serious by the FBI (Boyes-Watson 107). The respondent was indicted on three counts of aggravated indecent assault of one Andrea Constand. These charges brought forward fell out of the statute of limitations for sexual assault in the State of Pennsylvania, but the matter was tried regardless. The pre-trial in the matter was marred with motions from both which sought to throw out critical pieces of evidence. Eventually, Justice O’Neill allowed the use of deposition tapes that emanated from Cosby’s civil trial, but material from Cosby’s book was thrown out.
The next step in the case was jury selection, which was marred with motions that led to the sequestering of the jury due to fears that the media coverage would negatively influence the jury. The hearings were subsequently conducted in Montgomery County despite pleadings from the defense that the hearings would be biased against the defendant. Justice O’Neil announced that the jurors were deadlocked during deliberations especially on charges 1 and 2 and as a result, a mistrial was declared (The State of Pennsylvania 1).

Following the mistrial, the prosecution retried the same case. Some of the critical motions presented during the case called for the judge to allow other victims to testify to prove the allegations on the defendant’s pattern of sexual assault. All motions presented in the retrial were dismissed, and the matter proceeded for hearing. The jury found the defendant guilty on all three counts of aggravated indecent assault. The sentencing hearing began soon after, and the defendant was sentenced to at least three years in prison with a litany of fines and costs of the suit. The defense has since filed a notice of appeal (The State of Pennsylvania 1).
This case has raised several questions regarding the true position on the statute of limitations and the question of how the principles of res judicata apply. This situation exists considering the fact that all crimes were committed several years before the filling of the case and there had been civil cases on the same.

Works Cited
Boyes-Watson, Carolyn. Crime, And Justice: Learning Through Cases. Rowman & Littlefield, 2017.
The State of Pennsylvania. “Commonwealth V. William Henry Cosby, Jr. | Montgomery County, PA – Official Website.” Montgomery County, PA – Official Website | Official Website, 2018, www.montcopa.org/2312/Commonwealth-v-William-Henry-Cosby-Jr. Accessed 2 Oct. 2018.