Bill Cosby's criminal sex assault case against Andrea Constand is put on hold by Pennsylvania appeals court

  • Cosby, 78, wants the case to be thrown out before trial
  • However prosecutors say he doesn't have a right to file for pretrial appeal
  • Pennsylvania Superior Court has postponed the case until it decides
  • Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, 42, in 2004
  • Meanwhile Constand wants 2005 confidentiality agreement to be voided
  • She says the disgraced comedian is using it to silence witnesses
  • For more of the latest on Bill Cosby visit www.dailymail.co.uk/cosby

By Associated Press and Clemence Michallon For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:48 EST, 1 March 2016 | Updated: 20:18 EST, 1 March 2016

Bill Cosby's criminal sex assault case has been put on hold while judges consider his request to have it thrown out before trial.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court granted Cosby a postponement Tuesday while it decides whether to hear Cosby's pretrial appeal. His preliminary hearing had been set for next week.

Cosby, 78, is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, 42, in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. She was working for Temple University's women's basketball team at the time.

He said he had a promise from a former district attorney that he would never be charged over his encounter with Constand.

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Bill Cosby, pictured last month leaving the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in his home in 2004. He wants judges to throw out the case before it goes to trial

Bill Cosby, pictured last month leaving the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand in his home in 2004. He wants judges to throw out the case before it goes to trial

However, a different district attorney reopened the case last year and filed charges in December, weeks before the statute of limitations expired.

The preliminary hearing to determine if probable cause exists to send the case to trial had been set for March 8.

It seemed likely to be postponed unless the Superior Court quickly decided not to hear his appeal.

Prosecutors have argued that Cosby does not have the right to a pretrial appeal and should instead file the usual post-trial appeal if he is convicted.

A Montgomery County judge who heard two days of evidence on the issue agreed and refused to ask the appeals court to intervene. The judge, Common Pleas Judge Steven O'Neill, could end up with the case if it goes to trial.

O'Neill found no credible evidence of a binding agreement that Cosby would never be charged. The former district attorney, Bruce Castor, had testified for Cosby but acknowledged there was no written agreement forged.

Cosby is embroiled in civil litigation in several states, but the Pennsylvania case is the only one to lead to criminal charges.

He has teams of lawyers for the case itself, for appellate issues and for a countersuit he filed last month against Constand.

He also is embroiled in defamation lawsuits with some of the dozens of women around the country who accuse him of molesting them.

Cosby has posted $1 million bail in the Pennsylvania case. He faces five to 10 years in prison if convicted of felony indecent assault.

Meanwhile, Constand wants a judge to void the confidentiality agreement she and Cosby reached in 2005, it emerged last month.

She says Cosby is using it to silence key witnesses. 

Constand (pictured) wants a judge to void the confidentiality agreement she and Cosby reached in 2005. She says the disgraced comedian is using it to silence key witnesses

Constand (pictured) wants a judge to void the confidentiality agreement she and Cosby reached in 2005. She says the disgraced comedian is using it to silence key witnesses

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