Cosby wants juror gone after remark
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A man selected as a juror in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial thinks the comedian is guilty and wants the case to be over, according to a prospective juror who said the man offered his opinion as they chatted during jury selection.
Cosby’s lawyers seized on the alleged comment and asked Friday that the juror be removed immediately from the retrial, which begins Monday in suburban Philadelphia with opening statements. They attached an affidavit from the prospective juror who talked to the man as an exhibit.
He is said to have stated: “I just think he’s guilty, so we can all be done and get out of here.”
If the juror isn’t removed, the defense lawyers said, Judge Steven O’neill should question him to determine if he can be fair and impartial, or if he lied during the questioning that led to his selection. They also want the other jurors questioned to see if they were influenced by the man’s alleged comment.
Prosecutors had no comment on the jurors’ alleged conversation. Court officials didn’t immediately respond to messages about it.
The prospective juror said she didn’t know if the man was joking or serious. She said in her affidavit that some people being considered for the jury were sitting close enough to overhear the conversation and they may have heard the comments about Cosby.
The man who was selected as juror No. 11 on Wednesday disclosed that a friend worked in the county detectives’ office, but he said they hadn’t discussed the Cosby case and that he wouldn’t let the relationship affect his ability to be impartial.
He even got a laugh out of Cosby when O’neill apologized for the length of the process and he replied, “all good.”