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876 KB
Extraction Summary
8
People
2
Organizations
1
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
3
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Court filing / legal opinion excerpt
File Size:
876 KB
Summary
This document is a page from a court filing (Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE, United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell) that references the Bill Cosby case as legal precedent regarding non-prosecution agreements. It contains an email from former D.A. Bruce Castor to D.A. Risa Ferman dated September 23, 2015. In the email, Castor explains that in 2005 he intentionally promised not to prosecute Cosby criminally to strip him of Fifth Amendment protections, thereby forcing him to testify in a civil deposition for the benefit of the victim, Andrea Constand.
People (8)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin R. Steele | First Assistant District Attorney |
Present during initial stages of revived investigation; later elected District Attorney.
|
| Bill Cosby | Defendant |
Subject of the investigation and civil suit discussed in the document.
|
| Brian J. McMonagle | Defense Attorney |
One of Cosby's new lawyers.
|
| Patrick J. O’Conner | Defense Attorney |
One of Cosby's new lawyers.
|
| Risa Vetri Ferman | District Attorney |
Addressed as 'Risa' and 'D.A. Ferman'; recipient of the email from Castor.
|
| Bruce Castor | Former District Attorney |
Sent the email explaining his 2005 decision not to prosecute Cosby.
|
| Andrea Constand | Victim / Plaintiff |
Referred to as '[Constand]'; plaintiff in the civil suit against Cosby.
|
| Walter Phillips | Defense Attorney |
Referred to as '[Attorney] Phillips'; represented Cosby in 2005, deceased at time of email.
|
Organizations (2)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Commonwealth |
Refers to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prosecution.
|
|
| District Attorney's Office |
Implied organization for Steele, Ferman, and Castor (Montgomery County).
|
Timeline (2 events)
2005-02-17
Press release and decision by Bruce Castor not to prosecute Bill Cosby criminally.
Montgomery County, PA
2015-09-23
Bruce Castor sends email to D.A. Ferman explaining the 2005 non-prosecution agreement.
n/a
Locations (1)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Jurisdiction mentioned in footnote regarding Kevin R. Steele.
|
Relationships (2)
Castor writes 'Dear Risa' and mentions discussing decisions with her during her tenure as First Assistant.
Phillips was speaking for Cosby's side at the time.
Key Quotes (3)
"I concluded that the best way to achieve justice was to create an atmosphere where [Constand] would have the best chance of prevailing in a civil suit against Cosby."Source
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Quote #1
"I intentionally and specifically bound the Commonwealth that there would be no state prosecution of Cosby in order to remove from him the ability to claim his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, thus forcing him to sit for a deposition under oath."Source
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Quote #2
"I can see no possibility that Cosby’s deposition could be used in a state criminal case, because I would have to testify as to what happened, and the deposition would be subject to suppression."Source
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Quote #3
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,738 characters)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 310-1 Filed 07/02/21 Page 17 of 80
First Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele¹¹ was present during the initial stages of
the newly-revived investigation and participated in early discussions with Cosby’s new
lawyers, Brian J. McMonagle, Esquire, and Patrick J. O’Conner, Esquire.
the newly-revived investigation and participated in early discussions with Cosby’s new
lawyers, Brian J. McMonagle, Esquire, and Patrick J. O’Conner, Esquire.
On September 23, 2015, upon learning that D.A. Ferman had reopened the case,
former D.A. Castor sent her an email, to which he attached his February 17, 2005 press
release, stating the following:
former D.A. Castor sent her an email, to which he attached his February 17, 2005 press
release, stating the following:
Dear Risa,
I certainly know better than to believe what I read in the newspaper, and I
have witnessed first hand your legal acumen. So you almost certainly know
this already. I’m writing to you just in case you might have forgotten what
we did with Cosby back in 2005. Attached is my opinion from then.
have witnessed first hand your legal acumen. So you almost certainly know
this already. I’m writing to you just in case you might have forgotten what
we did with Cosby back in 2005. Attached is my opinion from then.
Once we decided that the chances of prevailing in a criminal case were too
remote to make an arrest, I concluded that the best way to achieve justice
was to create an atmosphere where [Constand] would have the best chance
of prevailing in a civil suit against Cosby. With the agreement of [Attorney]
Phillips and [Constand’s] lawyers, I wrote the attached as the ONLY
comment I would make while the civil case was pending. Again, with the
agreement of the defense lawyer and [Constand’s] lawyers, I intentionally
and specifically bound the Commonwealth that there would be no state
prosecution of Cosby in order to remove from him the ability to claim his
Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, thus forcing him to
sit for a deposition under oath. [Attorney Phillips] was speaking for Cosby’s
side at the time, but he was in contact with Cosby’s civil lawyers who did
not deal with me directly that I recall. I only discovered today that [Attorney
Phillips] had died. But those lawyers representing [Constand] civilly, whose
names I did not remember until I saw them in recent media accounts, were
part of this agreement because they wanted to make Cosby testify. I
believed at the time that they thought making him testify would solidify their
civil case, but the only way to do that was for us (the Commonwealth) to
promise not to prosecute him. So in effect, that is what I did. I never made
an important decision without discussing it with you during your tenure as
First Assistant.
remote to make an arrest, I concluded that the best way to achieve justice
was to create an atmosphere where [Constand] would have the best chance
of prevailing in a civil suit against Cosby. With the agreement of [Attorney]
Phillips and [Constand’s] lawyers, I wrote the attached as the ONLY
comment I would make while the civil case was pending. Again, with the
agreement of the defense lawyer and [Constand’s] lawyers, I intentionally
and specifically bound the Commonwealth that there would be no state
prosecution of Cosby in order to remove from him the ability to claim his
Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, thus forcing him to
sit for a deposition under oath. [Attorney Phillips] was speaking for Cosby’s
side at the time, but he was in contact with Cosby’s civil lawyers who did
not deal with me directly that I recall. I only discovered today that [Attorney
Phillips] had died. But those lawyers representing [Constand] civilly, whose
names I did not remember until I saw them in recent media accounts, were
part of this agreement because they wanted to make Cosby testify. I
believed at the time that they thought making him testify would solidify their
civil case, but the only way to do that was for us (the Commonwealth) to
promise not to prosecute him. So in effect, that is what I did. I never made
an important decision without discussing it with you during your tenure as
First Assistant.
Knowing the above, I can see no possibility that Cosby’s deposition could
be used in a state criminal case, because I would have to testify as to what
happened, and the deposition would be subject to suppression. I cannot
be used in a state criminal case, because I would have to testify as to what
happened, and the deposition would be subject to suppression. I cannot
____________________________________________________________________
11 Mr. Steele has since been elected District Attorney of Montgomery County.
11 Mr. Steele has since been elected District Attorney of Montgomery County.
[J-100-2020] - 16
DOJ-OGR-00004829
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