(Black serial rapist) Bill Cosby in the news

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news...Pennsylvania-Montgomery-County-434698133.html

Woman Sentenced for Posting Video of Closing Argument in Cosby Trial on YouTube
The woman told the judge she knew she was violating a previous court order that prohibited any recording inside the courtroom, but told the judge she viewed Cosby's sexual assault trial as the "one time" she might produce a viral online video.
Published at 4:40 PM EDT on Jul 15, 2017

A spectator who posted photos and audio online from the closing argument of Bill Cosby's criminal defense attorney has been found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 50 hours' community service.

Montgomery County President Judge Thomas DelRicci sentenced 37-year-old Anitra Burrows on Thursday.

The Collegeville woman told the judge she knew she was violating a previous court order that prohibited any recording inside the courtroom, but told the judge she viewed Cosby's sexual assault trial as the "one time" she might produce a viral online video. The video was posted on YouTube.

Cosby's 11-day trial ended in a mistrial when jurors couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. A retrial has been set for November.

Burrows apologized and told the judge "there was no malicious intent."
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/08/01/cosby-attorney-paperwork-withdraw/

Bill Cosby Attorney Files Paperwork To Withdraw From Case Before Sex Assault Retrial
August 1, 2017 11:51 PM By Jim Melwert

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA (CBS) — Three months from the scheduled start of his retrial on sex assault charges, and a key member of Bill Cosby’s defense has filed a motion to withdraw from the case.

Attorney Brian McMonagle has filed to withdraw as Bill Cosby’s attorney. McMonagle says Cosby is taking necessary steps to secure new counsel but requests until Aug. 21.

There is no word on who will replace McMonagle though Cosby’s publicist, Andrew Wyatt, says “I am still vetting attorneys on am short list,” adding attorney Angela Agrusa is still on the team.

McMonagle’s request to withdraw still needs the OK from Montgomery County Judge Stephen O’Neill, who has scheduled a hearing on Aug. 22.

Cosby’s retrial is currently scheduled for Nov. 6.

No word from McMonagle on the reason for his request to withdraw, but there was notable friction between McMonagle and Cobsy’s publicist, most clearly seen following the declaration of the mistrial.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/08/15/bill-cosby-lawyers/

Another Bill Cosby Lawyer Seeks To Step Down From Defense Team
August 15, 2017 2:01 PM By Jim Melwert

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Another one of Bill Cosby’s lawyers is asking to step down from his defense team.

Los Angeles-based attorney Angela Agrusa has filed paperwork in Montgomery County Court requesting withdrawal from the case.

Cosby’s other attorney, Philadelphia-based Brian McMonigle filed a motion to withdraw on August 1.

A pretrial conference is scheduled for August 22 to address who will
represent Cosby at his re-trial.

Cosby has asked that hearing be pushed back to September 11th at the earliest, as his search for new attorneys continues.

Prosecutors have filed a motion objecting to the proposed delay.

Pennsylvania School District Won’t Let Children Outside For Recess During Solar Eclipse

Cosby’s re-trial is currently scheduled to begin November 6. It will likely be delayed with the change in attorneys.

The entertainer turned 80 last month. He is charged with drugging and molesting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Elkins Park home in 2004.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/08/22/cosby-new-legal-team/

Cosby’s Sex Assault Retrial Will Be Delayed Until Spring
August 22, 2017 11:40 AM

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS/AP) — Bill Cosby’s retrial on sexual assault charges will be delayed as his new legal team gets up to speed on the case.

Judge Steven O’Neill on Tuesday granted a defense request to postpone the retrial, which had been scheduled to start in November, saying there’s no way the 80-year-old comedian’s lawyers would be ready by then.

“To ask someone to review the voluminous record over 18 months — now 20 months in this case — simply cannot be done,” O’Neill said from the bench.

Cosby’s new lawyers made their first court appearance on behalf of “The Cosby Show” star, who’s charged with drugging and molesting a woman at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. His first trial in June ended in a hung jury, setting the stage for a retrial.

The attorneys who represented Cosby at the first trial, Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, had asked to be let off the case. O’Neill approved the request, praising them for their “extraordinary advocacy.”

As they left the courtroom, the departing lawyers shook hands with Cosby and his new legal team, which includes Tom Mesereau, the high-profile attorney who won an acquittal in Michael Jackson’s child molestation case. :mad: Mesereau told TMZ last month that the case against Cosby was “weak” and that retrying him was “a waste of time.”

Other lawyers on the retooled legal team are former federal prosecutor Kathleen Bliss and Sam Silver, who represented now-imprisoned former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah in a corruption case.

After meeting in chambers, the judge asked Cosby’s lawyers to review their calendars and consider a start date sometime between March 15 and April 1. He said he’ll issue a firm date once they get back to him.

Signaling an early change in strategy, the new lawyers said they are willing to pick a jury from Montgomery County, where the alleged assault at Cosby’s home took place. Cosby’s former defense team insisted on picking a jury from a different county, partly because the case was a campaign issue in the 2015 race for Montgomery County district attorney. The first jury was selected from the Pittsburgh area and spent two weeks sequestered 300 miles from home.

Mesereau said they have “a strong inclination to try this case here in this county with a jury from this county.”

None of the lawyers commented as they left court Tuesday.

Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former employee of Temple University’s women’s basketball program. He has said the sexual encounter was consensual.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2017/09/15/cosbys-retrial-set-for-april-2/

Bill Cosby’s Retrial Set For April 2
September 15, 2017 11:25 AM

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A judge has scheduled a new date for Bill Cosby’s retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman more than a decade ago.

Judge Steven O’Neill on Friday ordered the retrial to begin on April 2. He says jury selection can get underway before then.

The retrial was initially set for November, but last month O’Neill granted a request by Cosby’s new lawyers to delay it so they could get up to speed on the case.

The 80-year-old comedian’s first trial in June ended in a hung jury.

“The Cosby Show” star is charged with knocking out accuser Andrea Constand with pills and sexually assaulting her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

He has said the sexual encounter with the former Temple University worker was coonsensual.
 
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/452076203.html

Ex-Prosecutor to Sue Cosby Accuser, Alleging Personal Injury
Ex-prosecutor Bruce L. Castor claims Cosby's accuser sued him in 2015 so that he would lose the prosecutor's race
Published 5 hours ago

A former district attorney who declined to press sexual-assault charges against Bill Cosby in 2005 has filed the beginnings of a lawsuit against Cosby's accuser in Philadelphia.

An attorney for Bruce L. Castor says the personal-injury complaint will claim Andrea Constand sued Castor for defamation in 2015 so he would lose the prosecutor's race. The winner, Kevin Steele, had criticized Castor's handling of the Cosby case.

Castor's lawyer James Beasley Jr. tells The Philadelphia Inquirer paperwork filed earlier this month will lead to a lawsuit seeking more than $50,000 in damages.

A lawyer representing Constand's attorneys says the potential lawsuit sounds "legally deficient."

Cosby is charged with knocking out Constand with pills and sexually assaulting her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. He says the encounter was consensual.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...laims-cosby-paid-accuser-millions-of-dollars/

Ex-Prosecutor Claims Cosby Paid Accuser Millions Of Dollars
November 3, 2017 9:48 PM

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former prosecutor claims his decision in 2005 not to charge Bill Cosby with drugging and molesting a woman led to the comedian paying his accuser a settlement “well into the millions of dollars.”

Bruce Castor’s assertion in a lawsuit Thursday against the accuser, Andrea Constand, and her lawyers is the first time anyone has put a value on the confidential settlement.

Castor alleges the women harmed his reputation and cost him a chance to return as district attorney in suburban Philadelphia by publicly criticizing him and suing him for defamation days before the 2015 election.

Castor’s lawsuit doesn’t explain how he would know how much Cosby paid Constand. Castor’s lawyers and Constand’s lawyers, Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz, didn’t immediately return messages.

Castor ended the investigation after four weeks, announcing Cosby would not be charged because the evidence had shown both parties “could be held in less than a flattering light.”

He said he was concerned that Constand had stayed in touch with Cosby and waited a year to call police. He said last year that the decision was intended to let Cosby speak freely at a civil deposition.

Cosby testified in 2005 and 2006 as part of Constand’s lawsuit against him.

A new prosecutor reopened the case and charged Cosby after excerpts from that deposition about giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with were made public.

After Cosby’s June trial ended in a mistrial, Castor said he was disappointed but not surprised.

“My opinion continues to be that Ms. Constand was probably the victim of a sexual assault,” Castor said. “‘Probably’ does not win criminal trials.”

A retrial is scheduled for April.

Another woman who says Cosby sexually assaulted her, Kathrine McKee, has asked a federal appeals court to reconsider her defamation case against him. A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month refused to revive her lawsuit against Cosby.

The former actress said Cosby defamed her in a letter his lawyer sent to the New York Daily News demanding a retraction of a 2014 story about McKee’s allegations he raped her decades ago.

A lower court judge who dismissed her lawsuit said the letter was protected by the First Amendment. McKee is challenging the three-judge panel’s conclusion that she was a public figure, which makes it harder to win a defamation claim.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/01/02/court-wont-rehear-cosby-case/

Court Won’t Rehear Defamation Case Against Cosby
January 2, 2018 at 9:03 pm

BOSTON (AP) — A federal appeals court won’t rehear a defamation lawsuit filed against Bill Cosby by a woman who said he raped her decades ago.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently denied Kathrine McKee’s request for a full-court hearing. A three-judge panel of the court had ruled against her in October.

The former actress said Cosby defamed her in a letter his lawyer sent to the New York Daily News demanding a retraction of a story about McKee’s allegations. Cosby’s lawyers said the letter was protected by the First Amendment.

McKee was among dozens of women who went public with allegations against Cosby. Cosby has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

A separate defamation lawsuit filed by seven other women is also pending in Massachusetts, where Cosby owns a home.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/01/18/19-other-accusers-at-cosby-retrial/

Prosecutors Want To Call 19 Other Accusers At Cosby Retrial
January 18, 2018 at 1:43 pm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) – Prosecutors preparing for Bill Cosby’s retrial on sexual assault charges want to call 19 other accusers to try to show a pattern of “prior bad acts” over five decades.

The comedian’s first trial ended with a hung jury in June. In that proceeding, prosecutors asked to call 13 other accusers, but the judge allowed only one to testify.

A lawyer for Cosby says she can’t comment on Thursday’s filing.

The 80-year-old comedian is charged with knocking out a Temple University employee with pills and sexually assaulting her in 2004.

Cosby has said the sexual encounter was consensual.

Pennsylvania law allows testimony about “prior bad acts” if they fit a nearly identical crime pattern. Prosecutors say that’s the case for the TV star once dubbed “America’s Dad.”
 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bill-Cosby-Philadelphia-Show-Club-Trial--470603653.html

Bill Cosby Jokes in 1st Show Since 2015 He 'Used to Be' Comedian at Philly Jazz Club
The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club for his first show since May 2015.
By Michael Sisak
Published at 8:17 PM EST on Jan 22, 2018 | Updated at 12:04 AM EST on Jan 23, 2018

Bill Cosby performed in public for the first time since a sex abuse scandal embroiled him in 2015, joking that he "used to be a comedian" and playing with a jazz band in his hometown as a retrial looms in his criminal sexual assault case.

The 80-year-old entertainer took the stage for about an hour Monday night at a Philadelphia jazz club for his first show since May 2015. Before a friendly crowd, he told stories, honored old friends and finished by leading the band in a set, first using his mouth to scat in place of a missing horn section and then taking a turn at the drums.

Cosby, handing the drumsticks off to the bass player's 11-year-old son, asked if the boy knew who he was and then told him.

"I used to be a comedian," Cosby deadpanned.

Cosby reminisced about his childhood, telling the crowd about how when he was 4 he grilled a relative about the impending birth of his brother. He mimicked his Uncle William, who took a swig from a cocktail before answering every question — including whether a stork was really delivering the baby to his parents.

Afterward, Cosby nearly dropped a glass jar he was using as a prop, prompting a "Whoa!" from the crowd.

Cosby, who's legally blind, seized on the moment.

"Let me tell you something about people talking to blind people, you sighted people," Cosby said. "If you see a blind person walking into a pole or something, if you speak perfect English, there's a word called 'Stop!' Not 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!'

"You laugh when blind people walk into things," he continued. "And guess what: Blind people laugh when sighted people fall down!"

Cosby arrived at the jazz club on the arm of his spokesman, Andrew Wyatt. He wore a gray hoodie bearing the phrase "Hello Friend," something his late son, Ennis Cosby, often would say.

He posed for photos with friends, including a couple he honored at the start of his set. They all grew up in the same public housing complex.

The crowd applauded and laughed along with Cosby's jokes, a far cry from how his last performances went. His last comedy tour ended amid protests as about 60 women were coming forward to accuse him of drugging and molesting them over five decades, something he has denied.

Cosby is scheduled for an April 2 retrial on charges he drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty and remains free on bail. His first trial ended with a hung jury last year. Jury selection for his retrial will start March 29.

Cosby's spokesman notified reporters of the comedy performance about two hours before he was to take the stage at the LaRose Jazz Club. The show was part of a program honoring jazz musician Tony Williams.

Outside the jazz club there was one protester, a woman who frequently hounded Cosby at his trial last year. She played Helen Reddy's song "I Am Woman" on a loop and held up a sign that said, "Perseverance to all survivors."

The jazz club performance is Cosby's latest step back into the spotlight he's mostly shied from since his December 2015 arrest.

Two weeks ago, Cosby invited reporters to tag along as he ate dinner with old friends at a Philadelphia restaurant.

Over the weekend, Cosby's social media accounts featured photos of him visiting a barber and a cafe in the area and showing support for the Philadelphia Eagles, who won Sunday's NFC Championship game against the Minnesota Vikings and secured a spot in the Super Bowl.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/01/25/cosby-defense-charges/

Cosby Defense Team Seeks Dismissal Of Charges
By Jim Melwert
January 25, 2018 at 10:30 pm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Bill Cosby’s sex assault re-trial in Norristown is set to begin in just over two months. But the comedian’s defense team argues charges should be thrown out because prosecutors can’t prove the alleged encounter happened within the statute of limitations.

Based on statute of limitations and on testimony from his accuser, Cosby’s defense team argues the incident would have had to have happened between December 30th, 2003 and January 20th, 2004.

Andrea Constand says Cosby drugged her and molested her while she was incapacitated at his Cheltenham home. Constand was never able to pinpoint an exact date, but she testified it happened in January, 2004.

The latest defense filing goes day by day through those dates, and rules out each day based on phone records, Cosby’s travel itinerary, and Constand’s expense reports with Temple University’s women’s basketball team.

Cosby’s lawyers are also asking the judge to allow testimony from Marguerite Jackson, who says Constand told her she had not been drugged and assaulted, but she “could say it happened, file charges, and get money to go to school and open a business.”

A mistrial was declared last June after a jury deadlocked, the retrial is scheduled to start April 2nd.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/02/06/defense-seeks-delay-to-cosby-trial/

Defense Seeks Delay To Cosby Trial If Additional Accusers Allowed To Testify
By Jim Melwert
February 6, 2018 at 6:17 pm

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Bill Cosby’s defense team says they’ll need his trial on sex assault charges in Montgomery County pushed back if the judge allows additional accusers to testify against him.

Prosecutors have asked to be allowed to present 19 additional accusers at trial under what’s known as prior bad acts.

Prosecutors say to show Cosby knew exactly what he doing, they allege, when he gave Andrea Constand pills and then molested her while she was incapacitated back in 2004.

Cosby’s defense team, arguing against allowing the women’s testimony at trial, say if the additional accusers are allowed to testify, they’ll need the start of the trial pushed back.

Pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 5 and 6th, and jury selection is scheduled for March 29.
 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/ent...trial-Want-19-Women-to-Testify-475767993.html

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby Retrial Want 19 Women to Testify
Cosby is due in court for a pretrial hearing Monday, just 10 days after the death of his daughter
By Michael R. Sisak
Published at 11:25 AM EST on Mar 4, 2018 | Updated at 1:28 PM EST on Mar 4, 2018

Prosecutors in Bill Cosby's retrial want to call as many as 19 other women to the witness stand to show he had a five-decade pattern of drugging and harming women.

Cosby is due in court for a pretrial hearing Monday, less than two weeks after his daughter's death, as his lawyers clash with prosecutors over how many of his accusers are allowed to testify at his April 2 sexual assault trial.

Judge Steven O'Neill allowed just one other accuser to take the witness stand at Cosby's first trial, which ended in a hung jury last year. Prosecutors had proposed calling as many as 13. They added six more to the list for the retrial, including model Janice Dickinson.

Cosby's lawyers have said they would seek to delay the retrial if other accusers are given a chance to testify. They said they would need extra time to look into the allegations.

Jury selection is slated to begin March 29.

Cosby's lawyers wrote in a court filing that some of the other accusers' allegations date to the 1960s and are "virtually impossible to defend against."

"Developing a defense to any of these outdated claims will require unusual amounts of investigative effort that cannot be completed by the present trial date," the lawyers wrote.

Cosby's 44-year-old daughter, Ensa, died of kidney disease Feb. 23. His lawyers have given no indication they would seek to delay Monday's hearing.

In January, the 80-year-old entertainer was suddenly out and about in his hometown of Philadelphia in what legal experts said was an effort to rebuild his good-guy image. Over a two-week span, Cosby emerged from a long period of near-seclusion to have dinner with friends at a restaurant and to give his first comedy performance in more than two years.

Prosecutors are counting on other accusers testifying to show there was a sinister side to Cosby's public persona as "America's Dad," cultivated through his role as an affable Jell-O pitchman and family sitcom star.

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he drugged and molested former Temple University women's basketball official Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home. He remains free on bail.

Prosecutors led off Cosby's first trial with testimony from the one other accuser they were allowed to call, Kelly Johnson, who worked for Cosby's agent.

She testified that Cosby knocked her out with a pill during a 1996 meeting at the Bel-Air Hotel. She said she woke up to find her dress disheveled, her breasts exposed and Cosby forcing her to touch his genitals.

Cosby's lawyers argue that the other accusers' largely unsubstantiated accusations aren't enough to meet the strict legal standard for letting prosecutors present evidence of a defendant's prior bad conduct.

They argued that allowing the women to take the witness stand would force the jury make separate determinations about whether Cosby harmed them, devolving his retrial into a series of mini-trials.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand, Johnson and Dickinson have done.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/03/04/cosby-pretrail-hearing/

Bill Cosby Set To Appear In Court For Pretrial Hearing In Montgomery County
By Jim Melwert
March 4, 2018 at 11:19 pm

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Pa. (CBS) — Bill Cosby is due in court Monday for a pretrial hearing for a series of issues related to his retrial on sex assault charges in Montgomery County.

Cosby‘s first trial ended in a mistrial with a hung jury last June.

In the lead up to that trial, prosecutors had asked 13 other Cosby accusers be allowed to testify at trial. The judge ruled they were allowed to bring in one.

This time prosecutors are asking for 19 accusers be allowed to testify.

Cosby’s lawyers are asking to be allowed to present a witness who claims Cosby’s accuser, Andrea Constand, told her that she could make a lot of money by making a false claim that she had been drugged and raped.

They’re also asking charges be thrown out as they say prosecutors can not meet their burden of proof to show the alleged incident happened within statute of limits.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/03/06/bill-cosby-pretrial-day-2/

Prosecutors Want To Paint Cosby As Big Hollywood Predator
March 6, 2018 at 6:35 am

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Stung by a hung jury the first time around, prosecutors are pushing to widen the scope of Bill Cosby’s looming retrial to spotlight allegations he is one of the biggest serial predators in a Hollywood suddenly aware of sexual misconduct in the #MeToo era.

The 80-year-old Cosby will be back in a suburban Philadelphia courtroom on Tuesday as his lawyers try to convince a judge to block some of his dozens of accusers from testifying against him at his April 2 retrial.

Prosecutors want as many as 19 of Cosby’s accusers to take the stand as they attempt to show the comedian had a long history of drugging and attacking women. They also are trying to insulate the accuser in his lone criminal case, Andrea Constand, from what a prosecutor called the defense’s “inevitable attacks” on her credibility.

Cosby’s lawyers have argued in writing that some of the aspiring actresses, flight attendants and other women the prosecution wants to call have allegations dating to the 1960s that are impossible to defend against. Some witnesses are dead, memories are shot and evidence has been lost, the lawyers argued.

Prosecutors made their case on Monday for allowing the women, including model Janice Dickinson, to testify. It was the first day of what is scheduled to be a two-day pretrial hearing.

Allowing the women to take the stand would show jurors that Cosby “systematically engaged in a signature pattern of providing an intoxicant to his young female victim and then sexually assaulting her when she became incapacitated,” Assistant District Attorney Adrienne D. Jappe argued.

Judge Steven O’Neill said he would not rule on whether to allow the testimony by the end of the hearing, calling it an “extraordinarily weighty issue” that he needs time to review.

O’Neill allowed just one other accuser to take the stand at Cosby’s first trial last year, barring any mention of about 60 others who have come forward to accuse Cosby in recent years.

The only other hint that jurors got of Cosby’s past came from deposition excerpts from 2005 and 2006 in which the star admitted giving quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.

That jury deadlocked, setting the stage for the retrial.

‘Hopelessly Deadlocked’: Judge Declares Mistrial In Cosby Sex Assault Case

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he assaulted Constand, a Temple University women’s basketball administrator, while he was a powerful alumnus and trustee. He has said the encounter was consensual. He remains free on bail.

Cosby’s revamped defense team, led by former Michael Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau, argued Monday that telephone records, travel itineraries and other evidence show the alleged assault could not have happened in January 2004, when Constand says it did, and thus falls outside the statute of limitations.

The date is important because Cosby was not arrested until Dec. 30, 2015 — meaning any assault prior to Dec. 30, 2003, would have fallen outside the 12-year statute of limitations.

O’Neill said he would leave that for the jury to decide, rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the charges.

Jury selection is slated to begin March 29.

Even before the hearing started, the judge knocked Cosby’s lawyers for falsely accusing prosecutors of hiding or destroying evidence.

O’Neill rejected a prosecution request to throw the lawyers off the case, saying he was reluctant to break up the defense with a retrial weeks away. But he added the defense lawyers were essentially “on notice.”

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand and Dickinson have done.
 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bill-Cosby-Retrial-Testify-Hearing-475803683.html

Judge in Bill Cosby Trial Won't Toss Sexual Assault Charges
Judge Steven O’Neill on Monday denied a defense motion to dismiss the case on statute of limitations and prosecutorial misconduct grounds.
By Michael R. Sisak
Published at 4:04 PM EST on Mar 5, 2018 | Updated at 7:46 PM EST on Mar 5, 2018

Bill Cosby made his first court appearance of the #MeToo era on Monday as defense lawyers tried without success to get his sexual assault case thrown out, then turned their attention to blocking some of the 80-year-old comedian’s dozens of accusers from testifying at his looming retrial.

Cosby’s retooled defense team, led by former Michael Jackson lawyer Tom Mesereau, argued that telephone records, travel itineraries and other evidence show the alleged assault couldn’t have happened when his accuser says it did and thus falls outside the statute of limitations.

Judge Steven O’Neill said he’d leave that for the jury to decide, rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the charges.

Cosby, who entered the courtroom on the arm of his spokesman, is charged with drugging and molesting a Temple University women’s basketball executive at his suburban Philadelphia home. Cosby said the encounter was consensual. A jury deadlocked on the case last year, setting the stage for a retrial.

Prosecutors sought Monday to persuade the judge to allow as many as 19 other accusers to take the stand, including model Janice Dickinson, in an attempt to show a sinister flip side to Cosby’s public persona as “America’s Dad,” cultivated through his role as an affable Jell-O pitchman and the star of the top-rated 1980s family sitcom “The Cosby Show.”

Prosecutors said the women’s testimony is vital to refuting the defense team’s “inevitable attacks” on the credibility of accuser Andrea Constand.

The accusers will provide evidence that Cosby “systematically engaged in a signature pattern of providing an intoxicant to his young female victim and then sexually assaulting her when she became incapacitated,” said Assistant District Attorney Adrienne D. Jappe.

Cosby’s lawyers have argued that some of the other accusers’ allegations date to the 1960s and present the defense with a nearly impossible burden. They say they will seek to delay the retrial if any of the women are permitted to testify so they can have more time to investigate their claims.

O’Neill said he would not rule on whether to allow the testimony by the end of the two-day hearing, calling it an “extraordinarily weighty issue” that he needs time to review.

The judge allowed just one other accuser to take the stand at Cosby’s first trial, barring any mention of about 60 others who have come forward to accuse Cosby in recent years.

The only other hint that jurors got of Cosby’s past came from deposition excerpts from 2005 and 2006 in which the star admitted giving quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with.

Jury selection in the retrial is slated to begin March 29.

Earlier Monday, the defense disputed Constand’s testimony at last year’s trial that he drugged and molested her at his suburban Philadelphia home in January 2004. Constand didn’t give a specific date, but said the incident had to have happened prior to Jan. 20, when her cousin moved into her Philadelphia apartment.

Cosby’s lawyers told O’Neill they’d found evidence that Cosby wasn’t even in Pennsylvania during that time. Constand testified she would have called Cosby to be let into his home, but his lawyers said her phone records don’t reflect such a call within her timeframe.

The date is important because Cosby wasn’t arrested until Dec. 30, 2015 — meaning any assault prior to Dec. 30, 2003, would have fallen outside the 12-year statute of limitations.

Even before the arguments got underway, Cosby’s lawyers were rapped by the judge for falsely accusing prosecutors of hiding or destroying evidence.

District Attorney Kevin Steele asked O’Neill to throw Cosby’s legal team off the case for claiming that prosecutors failed to reveal they’d interviewed a woman who cast doubt on Cosby’s accuser.

The defense withdrew the allegation days later after his former lawyer confirmed he knew that the prosecution interviewed the woman before Cosby’s first trial.

The DA argued Cosby’s new lawyers acted recklessly and “are at best incompetent and otherwise unethical.”

O’Neill, who presided over Cosby’s first trial, said he was reluctant to break up Cosby’s legal team with his retrial several weeks away. But he added the defense lawyers were essentially “on notice.”

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/03/15/accusers-testify-in-cosby-retrial/

5 Accusers Can Testify In Cosby Retrial, Judge Says
March 15, 2018 at 4:31 pm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Bill Cosby suffers a legal setback ahead of his sexual assault retrial next month. The judge in the case has now agreed to let five additional accusers testify.

According to the judge’s order, prosecutors can choose five of eight women who claim the incidents happened between 1982 to 1996. That includes the one woman who testified at Bill Cosby’s first trial.

Prosecutors argued last week that the women’s testimony is evidence of Cosby’s prior bad acts.

James Lyons has been in criminal law for 30 years starting as a prosecutor:

“Any time you have witnesses testifying in front of a jury as to prior bad it’s not ideal for the defense,” said James Lyons, who has been in criminal law for 30 years after starting as a prosecutor.

One other accuser was allowed to testify at Cosby’s initial trial, which ended with a hung jury.

“You’re going to have five different women testifying about things that happened over a long period of time. There are ways to attack that and counter that, but it presents a challenge for the defense, for sure,” said Lyons.

The 80-year-old entertainer is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.

Cosby denies any wrongdoing.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin on March 29. His trial is set to begin on April 2.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/20...ssault-trial-t-shirts-buttons/#comment-370844

Bill Cosby’s Lawyers Want T-Shirts, Buttons With Slogans Banned During Retrial
March 21, 2018 at 6:58 am

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Bill Cosby’s lawyers are asking a judge to ban certain clothes and accessories during his upcoming retrial.

Prosecutors Push Judge To Let Other Cosby Accusers Testify

Some of Cosby’s accusers wore T-shirts and buttons with slogans like, “We stand in truth.”

Some women also carried flowers to express solidarity with other accusers.

Start Of Bill Cosby’s Sexual Assault Retrial Being Pushed Back Few Days

Cosby’s lawyers argue those things could influence jurors.

Cosby is accused of sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004.

His first trial ended in a hung jury.
 
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/03/22/cosby-wants-judge-ousted/

Cosby Wants Judge Ousted Over Wife’s Sex-Assault Advocacy
March 22, 2018 at 12:30 pm

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Bill Cosby’s lawyers are asking the judge in his upcoming sexual assault retrial to step aside, arguing he could be seen as biased because his wife is a social worker who’s described herself as an “advocate for assault victims.”

Cosby’s lawyers said Thursday that some of Judge Steven O’Neill’s rulings, including his decision to let five additional accusers testify, could give the appearance he’s influenced by his wife’s work.

Deborah O’Neill is the coordinator of a University of Pennsylvania sexual trauma outreach team. She wrote her dissertation on acquaintance rape.

The O’Neills did not immediately respond to messages.

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he assaulted a woman at his Philadelphia-area home in 2004. His first trial ended in a hung jury. His retrial is scheduled for April 2.
 
https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Bill-Cosby-Pretrial-Hearing-Norristown-478268623.html

Judge in Bill Cosby Case Refuses Defense Request to Step Down
Cosby's legal team pressuring judge to quit, delay retrial
By Michael R. Sisak
Published at 7:58 AM EDT on Mar 29, 2018 | Updated 2 hours ago

The judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial rejected demands Thursday from the comedian's defense lawyers that he step aside because his wife is a social worker and advocate for assault victims.

Judge Steven O'Neill said at a pretrial hearing that he's "not biased or prejudiced" by his wife's work and that the assertion that he shares the same views as his wife or has let his rulings be influenced by her profession "is faulty, plain and simple."

Cosby's lawyers are in court Thursday in suburban Philadelphia making a last-ditch effort to postpone the comedian's sexual assault retrial after losing their bid to overturn O'Neill's ruling allowing up to five additional accusers to testify.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, but Cosby's lawyers could appeal that decision to the state Supreme Court.

The 80-year-old Cosby faces charges that he drugged and molested former Temple University athletics administrator Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.

As Cosby's lawyers are battling with O'Neill, who also oversaw his first trial, they also are counting on him to make critical rulings to bolster their defense.

The judge's wife, Deborah O'Neill, is a psychotherapist at the University of Pennsylvania and coordinates a team that cares and advocates for student sexual assault victims. Cosby's lawyers emphasized their concern over a $100 donation made in Deborah O'Neill's name to an organization that gave money to a group planning protests outside Cosby's retrial.

O'Neill said the donation was made 13 months ago by the university department where his wife works and that it wasn't a personal donation using her own money or their joint assets.

"How are my wife's independent views of an independent woman connected to me?" O'Neill said. "She's an independent woman and has the right to be involved in anything that she believes in."

O'Neill said Thursday that Cosby's old lawyers raised the prospect of having him step aside in December 2016, but never followed through. He added that he could've rejected the recusal request simply because Cosby's lawyers waited too long to ask.

He said they were aware of Deborah O'Neill's work as far back as December 2016, but that they waited until getting several adverse rulings just before retrial to raise it as an issue.

O'Neill spoke glowingly about his wife and said it was difficult to have her accomplishments "trivialized" in a legal motion. He said Cosby's lawyers had presented an antiquated view of marriage where spouses must agree on everything.

"What we do not share are unified views," O'Neill said, adding that his wife's views, "do not influence me one iota."

The defense request for the judge to step down was just one of the issues being argued during the pretrial hearing Thursday.

Cosby's lawyers want permission to call a witness who says Constand told her that she was not assaulted but could make up allegations to sue and get money, and they want jurors to hear how much Cosby paid her in a 2006 civil settlement.

Prosecutors say former District Attorney Bruce Castor's stated reasoning that he did not charge Cosby in 2005 because the case was weak and he wanted him to speak freely in a civil deposition is irrelevant to the case at hand.

They say Castor's unsuccessful campaign against current DA Kevin Steele in 2015 and his ongoing legal skirmish with Constand also are irrelevant.

Steele's predecessor, Risa Vetri Ferman, reopened the investigation in 2015 after The Associated Press fought to unseal parts of Cosby's deposition testimony — including lurid passages about him giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with. Cosby was charged shortly before the statute of limitations was set to expire.

Documents made public showed that prosecutors have chosen model Janice Dickinson as one of the women they plan to have testify. She says Cosby drugged and raped her in Lake Tahoe in 1982.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand and Dickinson have done.
 
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