A PENNSYLVANIA appeals court ordered a temporary halt to the sexual assault case against comedian Bill Cosby on Tuesday pending its ruling on whether defence lawyers’ appeal of a decision moving the case to trial can be quashed.

    The order by the Pennsylvania Superior Court postpones a March 8 preliminary hearing in a suburban Philadelphia court where Cosby, 78, faces charges of sexually assaulting a woman more than a decade ago.

    Cosby’s attorneys had appealed a ruling by Common Pleas Court Judge Steven O’Neill in Norristown that dismissed the entertainer’s claims that he had been granted immunity from prosecution in the case. Prosecutors had sought to quash the appeal.

    Cosby’s attorneys had asked the judge to toss the charges, contending that a deal reached with former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor spared their client from prosecution in exchange for a 2005 civil deposition.

    In the deposition, Cosby admitted giving what he said was an anti-allergy drug to his alleged victim, Andrea Constand, before a sexual encounter that he described as consensual.

    (SD-Agencies)