Whether a public press release grants a defendant transactional immunity

QUESTION PRESENTED 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? ii LIST OF PROCEEDINGS Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, Middle District No. 39 MAP 2020 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. William Henry Cosby Jr., Appellant. Published: 252 A.3d 1092 Date of Final Opinion: June 30, 2021 Superior Court of Pennsylvania No. 3314 EDA 2018 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Appellee, v. William Henry Cosby Jr., Appellant. Published: 224 A.3d 372 Date of Final Opinion: December 10, 2019 Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, State of Pennsylvania Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. William Henry Cosby Jr. No. Date of Trial Court Judgment and Deferred Sentencing: September 25, 2018