Pennsylvania v. William Henry Cosby, Jr.

The District Attorney of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, issued a press release announcing that his office would not file sexual assault charges against William H. Cosby because there was “insufficient credible and admissible evidence” to prove Cosby’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, so “a conviction under the circumstances of this case would be unattainable.” The press release also stated that the District Attorney “cautions all parties to this matter that he will reconsider this decision should the need arise.” Several years later, after Cosby made a series of inculpatory admissions in civil depositions, a new District Attorney charged Cosby with the same crimes, and he was ultimately convicted. THE QUESTION PRESENTED IS: When a prosecutor publicly announces that he will not file criminal charges based on lack of evidence, does the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment transform that announcement into a binding promise that no charges will ever be filed, a promise that the target may rely on as if it were a grant of immunity?