Cosby lawyers say prosecutors withheld, destroyed key evidence

[DonViejo]

By Michael R. Sisak ASSOCIATED PRESS JANUARY 26, 2018

PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby’s lawyers have accused prosecutors of withholding and destroying evidence that they say could have helped the 80-year-old entertainer defend himself against charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Cosby’s lawyers said in court papers Thursday that prosecutors waited until last week to tell them about an interview last year with a former Temple University colleague who said Andrea Constand told her she wasn’t sexually assaulted but could make up allegations to sue and get money.

The lawyers said they learned of the interview with Marguerite Jackson from a prosecutor during a Jan. 17 conference call. Detectives destroyed their notes from the interview, which was conducted before Cosby’s first trial that ended in a hung jury in June, the lawyers said.

Now, Cosby’s lawyers are asking a judge to throw out the case before prosecutors get a chance to retry him in April, saying their actions have deprived Cosby of ‘‘any meaningful right to a fair trial.’’

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[Jake Stern]

1. What is it with these prosecutors not turning over stuff to the defense?

Then they want to cry when a mistrial is declared or the charges are dismissed.

Nothing, except for personal information on a witness, should be shielded from the defense.