Slow start: Cosby trial gets single juror on first day

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A white man was the only juror picked Monday as the process of selecting the panel that will hear Bill Cosby’s second sexual assault trial got off to a slow start.

Unlike most of the 120 prospective panelists summoned to the Montgomery County Courthouse, the man professed to have never heard of the allegations against the 80-year-old entertainer.

More than half the people in that group told Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’neill they already had made up their minds about the case.

Cosby’s defense team, led by California lawyer Tom Mesereau, had expressed concerns about whether 12 impartial jurors and six alternates could be found, given the media coverage of Cosby’s case and the prevalence of the #Metoo movement.

And as O’neill questioned prospec- tive panel members Monday, all but one said they were familiar with #Metoo or claims of sexual assault lodged against Cosby or other celebrities.

“Get ready,” the judge joked to the lawyers as he asked for a show of hands from jurors if they had heard about the case against Cosby. “There’s a lot.”

It remains unclear how long it will take to pick the jurors, who will be sequestered through the length of what is expected to be a monthlong trial.

O’neill has scheduled opening arguments for April 9.