The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Jury selection begins
NORRISTOWN » After a tedious first day of jury selection, a white male in his 20s was the first juror seated for Bill Cosby’s retrial on sexual assault charges.
While the man stated he was aware of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment that is currently sweeping the social climate in the entertainment industry, he indicated he could be “a fair and impartial juror” at the Cosby retrial. No other identifying information was revealed about the man as he was questioned on Monday by Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill in the presence of prosecutors and defense lawyers. The man is the sole juror seated so far.
The judge is seeking a panel of 12 jurors and six alternate jurors. Testimony at the retrial won’t begin before April 9, officials said. Once the entire panel is selected, jurors will be sequestered at an area hotel for the duration of the trial.
O’Neill and District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and co-prosecutors M. Stewart Ryan and Kristen
Feden and defense lawyers Thomas Mesereau Jr., Kathleen Bliss and Becky James will continue questioning potential jurors on Tuesday.
The jury for the retrial will be composed of Montgomery County residents, unlike Cosby’s first trial last summer when the jury panel came from Allegheny County.
The day began with O’Neill generally questioning 120 potential jurors with a variety of questions, encompassing such things as whether or not they or a family member was ever a victim of sexual assault, whether or not they had knowledge about the #MeToo movement and whether or not they had read or viewed news reports about the Cosby case.
A majority of the potential jurors indicated they had heard something about the allegations against Cosby. One woman in her 30s said, if selected, she could not guarantee that she could set aside what she read or heard about the case. She was promptly excused “for cause” by agreement of both the prosecution and defense teams.
Another woman in her 50s revealed she and a family member were victims of sexual assaults but claimed she could set those experiences aside and fairly weigh the evidence at the Cosby trial. Prosecutors said the woman was acceptable as a juror but the defense used a peremptory challenge to keep her off the panel.
The prosecution and defense each have seven peremptory challenges they can use to excuse a juror, other than for cause, during the selection process. Each side had used one peremptory challenge by the end of the day on Monday.
William Henry Cosby Jr., 80, as his name appears on charging documents, faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations 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.
Cosby claimed the sexual contact was consensual.
Cosby’s first trial last June ended in a mistrial when a jury selected in Allegheny County could not reach a verdict. Steele immediately declared he would seek a retrial.
The charges were lodged against Cosby on Dec. 30, 2015, before the 12-year statute of limitations to file charges expired.
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.
Cosby currently remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail. If convicted of the charges at trial, the former sitcom star faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison.