Cosby trial judge delivers big victories to defence

media reports about Cosby’s case but haven’t formed an opinion about his guilt or innocence and can serve as fair and impartial jurors.

Cosby’s lawyers complained that prosecutors had improperly excluded two white men from serving on the jury on the basis of race and age, including one who said he thought many of the women coming forward in the #MeToo movement are “jumping on the bandwagon.”

The first juror picked Monday said he didn’t know anything about Cosby’s case. Nearly everyone else in the initial jury pool of 120 suburban Philadelphia residents indicated they knew about the charges against Cosby potential jurors who are being questioned as a group.

Cosby’s lawyers objected to having reporters in the courtroom because they feared it could hurt their ability to find a fair and impartial jury.

Montgomery County President Judge Thomas DelRicci said Tuesday he would schedule a hearing on the news media’s legal challenge.

Cosby is charged with drugging and sexually molesting Constand, a Temple University women’s basketball administrator, at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the encounter was consensual.

Picking a jury has proven difficult after the #MeToo movement started toppling famous men months after Cosby’s first trial ended in a deadlock.

All but one of the people in the initial group of potential jurors said they were aware of the #MeToo movement or the allegations it spurred against powerful entertainment figures. The lone person who claimed ignorance on #MeToo was not invited back.

Last year’s trial was mostly a he-said-she-said. For the retrial, O’Neill has ruled jurors can hear from five additional accusers, giving prosecutors a chance to portray Cosby — the former TV star once revered as “America’s Dad” for his family sitcom The Cosby Show — as a serial predator.

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