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5 Comments

  1. Al Cavasin
    18 December 2014 @ 6:44 am

    Hmmm. Let’s see…”for complicated reasons I made her a promise not to tell anyone.” And you call yourself a ‘defense’ attorney – and a friend? Surely sir, you jest. How, on God’s green earth, could anyone know a friend had been drugged and raped by anyone, let alone a celebrity of Cosby’s status, and convince her not to seek remedy by every legal means possible? Is that – in and of itself – not a criminal act? Are you not, in the act of burying the facts, complicit in Cosby’s “crime?” Do you not, as an officer of the court, have a duty of care?

    I, for one, would appreciate a future column explaining what those ‘complicated reasons’ were. As it stands now, I am deeply and profoundly grateful that I have no friends of your quality.

    Reply

    • Philip Rosmarin
      21 December 2014 @ 12:42 am

      I think a number of people had trouble with the sentence Al quotes, and read it instead as “…I made her promise not to tell anyone.” I reckon it’s easy to miss that smallest of words (“a”), so I’ll try to use slightly larger ones in future.

      And no, it wouldn’t be any criminal act if someone indeed had counseled my friend not to talk about what happened — and maybe someone did — but that was not my advice.

      And no, an officer of the court who also wears the hat of criminal defense attorney — though I was neither at the time — does not have some duty of care to report crimes she or he has not witnessed and evidence of which comes from one source.

      I’m guessing most criminal defense lawyers, who by definition defend folks accused of crimes, prefer not to do the work properly left to police and prosecutors. If such lawyers
      became, or become, involved in any of the allegations I wrote about, it would be to line up to defend the accused.

      Reply

  2. James Bordonaro
    17 December 2014 @ 3:37 pm

    Even if the narrative about the rape of your friend is true, is it not ineffective to “prosecute” him in the court of public opinion?

    It appears clear that none of Cosby’s CURRENT accusers claim acts within the statute of limitations for criminal conduct. Only a few even have attempted civil lawsuits. Most claims relate to alleged incidents decades ago. Would not a typical person (non-celebrity) having been convicted of similar offenses already have served a sentence and had their conviction expunged? Is there really any credible evidence to suggest that Cosby (at age 77) is a potential threat to offend again? Isn’t it probable that some accusers have fabricated their stories in an effort to gain attention?

    Can a person not rehabilitate themselves through prayer, penitence, and/or therapy? What is to be gained? Does the public demand a mea culpa before offering forgiveness?

    Reply

  3. Bruce Luyendyk
    17 December 2014 @ 10:20 am

    This is a sad and important story.

    Reply

  4. Dan
    17 December 2014 @ 10:13 am

    Powerful column.

    Reply

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