61°F
weather icon Clear

Bill Cosby will not question accuser before trial

PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby has lost his bid to question his accuser in court before his sexual-assault case goes to trial near Philadelphia.

The 79-year-old comedian’s lawyers lost their appeal on the issue of whether accuser Andrea Constand should have been forced to testify at a preliminary hearing last year.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to take up Cosby’s appeal.

Pennsylvania case law allows prosecutors to use an accuser’s statements to police in court to spare victims the ordeal of having to testify repeatedly.

Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting Constand in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on $1 million bail.

Jury selection is set to get underway next month.

MOST READ
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
What travelers can expect as Southwest Airlines introduces assigned seats

Southwest Airlines passengers made their final boarding-time scrambles for seats on Monday as the carrier prepared to end the open-seating system that distinguished it from other airlines for more than a half‑century.

 
Videos of deadly Minneapolis shooting contradict government statements

Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis while use-of-force experts criticized the Trump administration’s justification of the killing, saying bystander footage contradicted its narrative of what prompted it.

MORE STORIES