The system can work

I can’t quite believe that I’m typing these words. And judging by the stunned reactions to the news, I’m not alone. But Bill Cosby, for decades a beloved entertainer and an avatar of family values, has been convicted on three counts of sexual assault by a Pennsylvania jury (and a majority male jury, at that).

Our surprise speaks to the heights from which Cosby fell but also to a widespread pessimism about the American justice system’s ability to secure convictions in sex-crime cases.

This profound lack of faith that the legal system will work the way it is supposed to when the crime is a sexual one doesn’t just influence the tone of our debates. It also has an impact on what we see as viable solutions to sexual violence. Women rely on whisper networks rather than the police, even when we know these networks can’t reach all potential victims.

The case against Cosby was unique in ways that both made it challenging to convict him and gave prosecutors an incentive to pursue him diligently. Cosby’s fame gave him a measure of protection for years, but it also ultimately drew attention to the dozens of allegations against him and to a culture of celebrity immunity.

The Cosby verdict may not change our sense of what is possible immediately. It will not reform every police department, test every rape kit, or change the perceptions that every potential juror brings to the courthouse when summoned to duty. But if Bill Cosby can finally be convicted of sexual assault, then every victim, every cop, every crime lab and every prosecutor should know that while the cases before them might be difficult, they are not impossible.