Cosby jury picked; defense alleges discrimination
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — A jury of seven men and five women — 10 of them white, two of them black — was seated Wednesday to decide Bill Cosby’s fate in the biggest celebrity trial of the #MeToo era, after a day marked by defense accusations of racial discrimination.
Cosby’s lawyers alleged a member of the prosecution team made a disparaging remark after a black woman was removed from consideration to serve on the jury in the 80-yearold comedian’s retrial on sexual assault charges.
The racial and gender makeup of this jury is identical to the one that failed to reach a verdict in last year’s trial.
Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the encounter with the former Temple University women’s basketball administrator was consensual.
Prosecutors plan to call as many as five additional accusers in a bid 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.
As Wednesday’s session got underway, a judge gave The Associated Press and other media organizations more access to jury selection.