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The state Superior Court had put the case on hold while it
considered whether to take up Cosby's unusual pretrial appeal.
The 78-year-old actor and comic is charged with drugging and
assaulting Andrea Constand, a former basketball coach at his
alma mater Temple University, at his home in 2004.
Constand, now 44, is one of more than 50 women who have come
forward to accuse Cosby of sexually assaulting them in a series
of attacks dating to the 1960s.
The allegations have toppled Cosby, who built a long career on
family-friendly comedy, from his position as one of the United
States' best-loved entertainers.
Constand's case is the only one that has led to criminal
charges, partly due to statutes of limitations. Cosby faces a
number of civil lawsuits from his many alleged victims.
Monday's ruling clears the way for a preliminary hearing, where
prosecutors are expected to outline some of the evidence against
Cosby.
"We did not believe that the defense had a right to appeal at
this stage, and we are gratified that the court came to the same
conclusion," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele
said in a statement.
Representatives for Cosby did not immediately comment.
Lawyers for Cosby, who has denied any wrongdoing, had argued
that former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor had
promised not to prosecute Cosby in the Constand case in exchange
for Cosby's agreement to give a deposition in her civil lawsuit.
But current prosecutors countered that no written deal existed
to back up that contention and said Castor was not legally
authorized to bind his successors from pursuing criminal
charges.
In February, Pennsylvania Common Pleas Court Judge Steven
O'Neill rejected Cosby's bid following a two-day hearing at
which Castor testified that he agreed not to prosecute Cosby if
he sat for the deposition.
Cosby has portrayed the encounter with Constand as consensual
and said he gave her an anti-allergy medication.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; editing by Scott Malone, Bill Trott and
G Crosse)
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