Bill Cosby jury filled as defense alleges discrimination
NORRISTOWN, PA. — The jury that will weigh sexual assault charges against Bill Cosby was filled out Wednesday even as the comedian’s defense team accused prosecutors of racial discrimination for excluding a black woman from the panel.
Cosby’s lawyers alleged a member of the prosecution team made a disparaging remark after a black woman was removed from consideration. They didn’t reveal in open court what they claim had been said, but sought to use the remark as evidence that prosecutors illegally removed the woman from the jury pool on the basis of her race.
Prosecutors pushed back, noting two black jurors had been seated, and the judge said he didn’t believe the prosecution had any “discriminatory intent.”
Cosby’s lawyers eventually relented, and once jury selection resumed, three white men and a white woman were quickly placed on the panel.
That brought the total number picked over three days to 12 — a full jury. Six alternates also have to be picked.
The main panel consists of 10 whites and two blacks. The jury has seven men and five women.
The battle over the black juror’s removal highlighted a vast racial disparity in the suburban Philadelphia jury pool that limited the number of black people available for consideration.
Just 10 of about 240 prospective jurors questioned on the first three days of jury selection were black, or about 4.2 percent.
The black population in Montgomery County is about 9.6 percent black, according to the latest U.S. Census estimates.
The county says the names of people called for jury duty are selected randomly from a master list that combines voter registration records and driver’s license records.
On Wednesday, Cosby lawyer Kathleen Bliss said in court that someone connected with the defense team heard someone on the prosecution side say “something that was discriminatory and repulsive” after the black woman was dismissed.
“By all appearances, she was a perfectly qualified juror who stated that she could be fair and impartial,” Bliss said, adding there was no explanation for the woman’s removal “other than her race.”
District Attorney Kevin Steele responded there was “absolutely no legitimacy” to the defense’s challenge, adding that prosecutors had no problem seating the two other black people who’d appeared for individual questioning.