DOJ-OGR-00004885.jpg
Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 310-1 Filed 07/02/21 Page 73 of 80
do just that, D.A. Castor made no attempt in 2005 or in any of the ten years that followed
to remedy any misperception or to stop Cosby from openly and detrimentally relying upon
that decision. In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor
D.A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby’s due process rights. No other conclusion
comports with the principles of due process and fundamental fairness to which all aspects
of our criminal justice system must adhere.2°
Having identified a due process violation here, we must ascertain the remedy to
which Cosby is entitled. We note at the outset that specific performance does not
automatically apply in these circumstances. As a general rule, specific performance is
reserved for remedying an injured party to a fully consummated agreement, such as an
agreed-upon and executed plea bargain. Commonwealth v. Spence, 627 A.2d 1176,
1184 (Pa. 1993). “Specific performance’ is a traditional contract remedy that is available
when monetary damages are inadequate.” Martinez, 147 A.3d at 532 (citing BLACK’s LAW
DICTIONARY 1425 (8th ed. 2004) (defining “specific performance” as, inter alia, “a court-
ordered remedy that requires precise fulfillment of a legal or contractual obligation when
monetary damages are inappropriate or inadequate’”)).
This does not mean that specific performance is unavailable entirely. It only means
that the remedy does not naturally flow to someone under these circumstances as an
automatic consequence of contract law. Specific performance is awarded only when
equity and fundamental fairness command it. See Scotland, at 614 F.2d at 365 (stating
that, if “the defendant detrimentally relies on the government’s promise, the resulting harm
from this induced reliance implicates due process guarantees”); see also Commonwealth
v. Mebane, 58 A.3d 1243 (Pa. Super. 2012) (upholding trial court ruling that fundamental
28 See Khan v. State Bd. of Auctioneer Exam'rs, 842 A.2d 936, 946 (Pa. 2004)
(“Substantive due process is the esoteric concept interwoven within our judicial
framework to guarantee fundamental fairness and substantial justice . . . .”) (cleaned up).
[J-100-2020] - 72
DOJ-OGR-00004885