Judge denies Cosby request to delay retrial

NORRISTOWN » A judge ruled Bill Cosby’s upcoming retrial on sexual assault charges will not be delayed, denying the actor’s request for more time to investigate the claims of five additional accusers granted permission to testify in the case.

“All counsel was advised on February 6, 2018, to be prepared for trial regardless of the status of this court’s rulings on any outstanding pretrial motions,” Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill wrote in a one-page order issued on Monday.

Jury selection is now set to begin for Cosby’s retrial on April 2.

In an emergency petition filed late Friday, Cosby’s defense team led by Los Angeles lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. asked the judge for

a continuance of the retrial. Mesereau argued the defense team needed more time to prepare given the judge’s March 15 order allowing five additional women who accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct to testify for prosecutors at the actor’s retrial on charges he sexually assaulted one woman at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004.

In addition to denying the request for a continuance, O’Neill said he would not certify a defense request to appeal his March 15 order to a state court.

In court papers, Mesereau argued the judge essentially gave Cosby only about two weeks from the commencement of trial “to investigate and prepare to defend himself against

what are, essentially, five new criminal indictments against him.”

“Mr. Cosby submits that this burden is impossible to meet and the court’s actions are unprecedented,” Mesereau and co-defense lawyers Kathleen Bliss, Becky James and Lane Vines wrote in court papers.

Defense lawyers added the accusations of the five women are between two and four decades old and the “remoteness” makes them difficult to investigate in the time allotted before trial. The accusers’ inability to place the alleged assaults within “any reasonable time frame makes it virtually impossible to locate evidence contradicting their claims or to provide an alibi as Mr. Cosby would otherwise be entitled to do,” the defense lawyers wrote.

“Under the present circumstances, a continuance is not only reasonable, it

is required in order to respect Mr. Cosby’s constitutional rights to due process and to effective representation,” Mesereau wrote.

In a ruling handed down last week, O’Neill said prosecutors “shall be permitted to present evidence…regarding five prior bad acts of its choosing” from a list of eight other accusers who alleged sexual misconduct by Cosby between the years 1982 and 1996.

District Attorney Kevin R. Steele sought the judge’s permission to allow 19 other accusers to testify when Cosby stands trial on charges he had inappropriate sexual contact with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University athletic department employee, at his Cheltenham home after plying her with blue pills and wine sometime between mid-January and mid-February 2004.

Steele and co-prosecutors Adrienne Jappe, M. Stewart Ryan and Kristen Feden argued during a pretrial hearing two weeks ago that the testimony of the other accusers is “strikingly similar” to Constand’s claims and should be admissible

as evidence against Cosby.

Prosecutors argued the testimony of the other accusers is relevant “to establish a common plan, scheme or design” for the jury and “to establish that an individual, who over the course of decades intentionally intoxicated women in a signature fashion and then sexually assaulted them while they were incapacitated, could not have been mistaken about whether or not Ms. Constand was conscious enough to consent to the sexual abuse.”

But Cosby’s lawyers argued none of the other accusers should be permitted to testify, claiming the women’s accusations are “ancient” and prejudicial

and that such testimony would result in “multiple mini-trials.”

Defense lawyers suggested the prosecution’s case “is so weak” that prosecutors are desperate to salvage it with the testimony of other women who accuse Cosby of misconduct.

O’Neill’s ruling to allow five other accusers to testify was considered a major decision in the case.

Legal insiders believe the key to the prosecution’s case against Cosby is the admissibility of evidence involving accusers who came forward after Constand’s allegations came to light.

William Henry Cosby Jr., as his name appears on charging documents, faces

three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with Constand. Cosby has maintained his contact with Constand was consensual.

Cosby, 80, remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail, pending the retrial.

Cosby’s first trial last June ended in a mistrial when jurors could not reach a verdict. Steele immediately announced he would seek a retrial.

The newspaper does not normally identify victims of sex crimes without their consent but is using Constand’s name because she has identified herself publicly.

“Mr. Cosby submits that this burden is impossible to meet and the court’s actions are unprecedented.” — defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr.