Between attempting to discredit his numerous accusers, Bill Cosby is also fighting to keep old court documents sealed.
On Wednesday, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Cosby’s lawyer argued that opening the records, sealed after the suit brought against the comedian by Andrea Constand in Pennsylvania in 2005 was settled, would be unfair to Cosby. However, a Pennsylvania law says that after two years, the sealed records can be unsealed. The Associated Press asked to see these records, to which Cosby’s lawyers screamed in horror because there’s probably quite a bit of incriminating details in those files—especially as the Coz is trying to deflect defamation law suits from alleged victims like Janice Dickinson.
The sealed records “not only includes more about the sexual misconduct allegations, but also issues relating to Cosby’s health, use of prescription drugs, financial affairs and personal relationships.”
Here’s what Cosby’s lawyer George Gowen argued on behalf of his client in a brief submitted on Wednesday:
Although the rules might be set up towards the presumption of public access to judicial records, the brief further argues that he “is not a public official, nor is the relevant information important to public health or safety… Defendant’s status as a well-known comedian and entertainer does not render him a ‘public’ person within the meaning of the law.”
The Associated Press responded with a brief of their own, stating:
“The defendant is the only party who objects to unsealing the record,” writes the wire service. “However, now that the circumstances that he relied upon to gain preliminary sealing in this matter are nothing more than historic references, bypassed by recent public events, the files at issue should be unsealed.”
The AP adds that Cosby is “unquestionably a public figure” and his conduct “a legitimate matter for public scrutiny.”
Let’s say all of the allegations against Cosby weren’t so much of an open Hollywood secret but rather public knowledge decades ago, that information probably would’ve saved countless women from allegedly suffering at his hand.
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Image via AP.