Bill Cosby, center, leaves after a hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse on Tuesday. He will be back in court today to hear if a judge will allow his past testimony in his trial.

NORRISTOWN — Bill Cosby is returning to court today to hear if a judge will allow his damaging decade-old testimony from an accuser’s lawsuit to be used at his June criminal trial.

Cosby’s lawyers have said the comedian agreed to answer questions under oath only after being assured he would not be charged with a crime. The defense has insisted Cosby had an oral promise from the district attorney at the time that he would not be prosecuted over a 2005 sexual encounter with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University basketball manager.

The judge previously refused to dismiss the charges on those grounds, but is now being asked to suppress the deposition when the case goes to trial. A hearing on the issue began Tuesday and resumes today.

A new district attorney had Cosby arrested last year, after the deposition was unsealed and dozens of new accusers came forward.

Cosby, now 79 and blind, has said his encounter with Constand was consensual. He could get 10 years in prison if convicted. He is free on $1 million bail.

The “Cosby Show” star once known as America’s Dad smiled as he arrived at the suburban Philadelphia courthouse on Tuesday with his entourage.

Judge Steven O’Neill, who is presiding over the case, said Cosby’s decision to testify could have been strategic. He found no evidence Cosby’s lawyers tried to get the promise in writing before allowing him to give four days of testimony.

They might have thought it was better for him to testify than plead the Fifth Amendment and have a civil jury think he had something to hide, the judge suggested.