When an unconditional charging decision is made publicly and with the intent to induce action and reliance by the defendant, and when the defendant does so to his detriment, denying the defendant the benefit of that decision is an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was foregone for more than a decade.
A contrary result would be patently untenable. It would violate long-cherished principles of fundamental fairness. It would be antithetical to, and corrosive of,the integrity and functionality of the criminal justice system that we strive to maintain.
For these reasons, Cosby’s convictions and judgment of sentence are vacated,
and he is D I S C H A R G E D.
