PHILADELPHIA -- Bill Cosby's lawyers filed a list of nearly a dozen alleged trial errors Tuesday as they appeal his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term. The defense asked to have the 81-year-old disgraced comedian released from a suburban Philadelphia prison while his appeal proceeds, but their pleas have so far been rejected.

Bill Cosby leaves the courtroom in handcuffs after being sentenced to 3 to 10 years in prison for sexual assault, Sept. 25, 2018. KYW-TV

A jury convicted Cosby at a spring retrial of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand in 2004, in what became the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The lawyers said trial Judge Steven O'Neill had an alleged feud with a pretrial witness, the ex-prosecutor who had declined to charge Cosby a decade earlier. And they said his decisions to preside over the case, let five other accusers testify, air Cosby's prior deposition testimony about quaaludes and dismiss the ex-prosecutor's promise not to charge him are mistakes that warrant a new trial.

"The trial court erred in failing to disclose his bias against District Attorney (Bruce) Castor, and in failing to recuse himself, prior to determining (his) credibility," wrote lawyer Brian Perry of Harrisburg, the latest of more than a dozen lawyers to represent Cosby in the case.

The entertainer, who is legally blind, spends his days in a one-man cell and private day room, in a new state prison about 20 miles from his sprawling estate near Philadelphia, where the crime occurred.

In a deposition in Constand's 2005 civil suit, Cosby called the 2004 encounter consensual and his feelings for her romantic. Constand considered him a mentor with close ties to her boss at Temple, where she worked for the women's basketball team. She was about 30 and Cosby, a Temple trustee, about 66. The key issues raised on appeal Tuesday include:

Testimony from other accusers

Legal experts believe Cosby's best shot on appeal may be the judge's decision, without comment, to hear from five other accusers when he'd allowed just one at Cosby's first trial in 2017, when the jury deadlocked. The law permits "prior bad act" witnesses only in very limited circumstances, usually to show a "signature" crime pattern. In Cosby's case, all five women said they thought they'd been drugged and molested. The defense called their testimony "too remote in time" and "too dissimilar" to Constand's accusation.

Judge's supposed feud with witness

As Cosby's sentencing neared, his wife Camille filed an ethics complaint against O'Neill over his supposed feud with Castor, who had declined to charge Cosby in 2005 and said he'd made a binding "agreement" that Cosby would never be charged. Castor became a key pretrial witness for the defense. But O'Neill found no evidence his decision was binding on his successors.

Damning deposition testimony

The judge allowed prosecutors to use several excerpts from Cosby's damaging deposition in Constand's related 2005 lawsuit, which ended with Cosby paying Constand a $3.4 million settlement. Juror Harrison Snyder later told ABC-TV the deposition - in which Cosby admitted getting Quaaludes to give women before sex - was the key evidence that made him think he was guilty.

"Sexually violent predator" designation

Cosby, once revered as "America's Dad" for playing the beloved Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," could spend a decade in prison, given the way O'Neill fashioned his sentence. The three-year minimum appears well within the 1- to 4-year state guidelines. But O'Neill attached an unusual 10-year maximum, which could keep Cosby from getting parole unless he acknowledges his sexual offenses and completes sex-offender therapy.

O'Neill, based in part on expert testimony about other accusers, judged Cosby a "sexually violent predator" and said his wealth and power made it possible he could still reoffend. The label makes Cosby subject to police registration and community alerts should he be released from prison.</s>Bill Cosby’s lawyers have filed a list of 11 alleged trial errors as they try to undo his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.

Bill Cosby’s lawyers have filed a list of 11 alleged trial errors as they try to undo his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.

The lawyers filed a motion on Tuesday saying Pennsylvania trial Judge Steven O’Neill had a feud with a key pre-trial witness, the former county prosecutor who declined to arrest Cosby a decade earlier.

And they say his decisions to let five other accusers give evidence, air some of Cosby’s deposition from the accuser’s lawsuit and dismiss the promise not to charge Cosby are grounds for a new trial.

A jury convicted the 81-year-old Cosby this spring of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004, in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The legally blind comedian is housed in a new state prison about 20 miles from his Philadelphia-area estate.</s>Follow CBSPHILLY Facebook | Twitter

 

 PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — Bill Cosby‘s lawyers have filed a list of 11 alleged trial errors as they try to undo his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.

According to the motion filed on Tuesday, Pennsylvania trial Judge Steven O’Neill had a feud with a key pretrial witness, the former county prosecutor who declined to arrest Cosby a decade earlier.

Prosecutors: Bill Cosby’s Bid For New Trial Is ‘Meritless’

Cosby’s lawyers also say O’Neill’s decisions to let five other accusers testify, air some of Cosby’s deposition from the accuser’s lawsuit and dismiss the promise not to charge Cosby are grounds for a new trial.

Back in October, Cosby’s trial judge rejected his bid for a new trial or sentencing hearing after “an exhausting review” of post-trial motions, prompting Cosby’s wife, Camille, to again accuse O’Neill of bias against her husband.

Bill Cosby Sentenced To 3-10 Years Behind Bars For Sexual Assault

Camille Cosby in a statement again insists O’Neill should have stepped down because his wife has advocated for sex assault victims. O’Neill has said that has no bearing on his work.

A jury convicted the 81-year-old Cosby this spring of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004, in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The legally blind comedian is housed in a new state prison about 20 mile (32 kilometers) from his Philadelphia-area estate.</s>PHILADELPHIA — Bill Cosby’s lawyers have filed a list of 11 alleged trial errors as they try to undo his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.

The lawyers filed a motion Tuesday saying Pennsylvania trial Judge Steven O’Neill had a feud with a key pretrial witness, the former county prosecutor who declined to arrest Cosby a decade earlier.

And they say his decisions to let five other accusers testify, air some of Cosby’s deposition from the accuser’s lawsuit and dismiss the promise not to charge Cosby are grounds for a new trial.

A jury convicted the 81-year-old Cosby this spring of drugging and molesting a woman in 2004, in the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.

The legally blind comedian is housed in a new state prison about 20 mile (32 kilometres) from his Philadelphia-area estate.</s>Bill Cosby's lawyers detailed nearly a dozen alleged legal errors Tuesday, including the judge's decision to send the case to trial, as they appeal his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.They've also asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this month to release the 81-year-old disgraced comedian from a state prison near Philadelphia while the appeal proceeds.The lawyers said trial Judge Steven O'Neill had a feud with a pretrial witness, the ex-prosecutor who had declined to charge Cosby in 2005. And they said his decisions to assign himself the case, let five other accusers testify, air Cosby's prior deposition testimony about quaaludes and dismiss the ex-prosecutor's promise not to charge Cosby are mistakes that warrant a new trial."The trial court erred in failing to disclose his bias against District Attorney (Bruce) Castor, and in failing to recuse himself, prior to determining (his) credibility," wrote lawyer Brian Perry of Harrisburg, the latest of more than a dozen lawyers to represent Cosby in the case.A jury convicted Cosby at a spring retrial of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004, in what became the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment on Tuesday's filing.Cosby - whose estimated fortune from his TV shows, comedy tours and product pitches once topped $400 million - was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting accuser Andrea Constand. The entertainer, who is legally blind, spends his days in a one-man cell and private day room, in a new state prison about 20 miles from his sprawling estate near Philadelphia, where the crime occurred.In a deposition in Constand's 2005 civil suit, Cosby called the 2004 encounter consensual and his feelings for her romantic. Constand considered him a mentor with close ties to her boss at Temple, where she worked for the women's basketball team. She was about 30 and Cosby, a Temple trustee, about 66. The key issues raised on appeal Tuesday include:------</s>Bill Cosby's lawyers detailed nearly a dozen alleged legal errors Tuesday, including the judge's decision to send the case to trial, as they appeal his sexual assault conviction and three- to 10-year prison term.

They've also asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court this month to release the 81-year-old disgraced comedian from a state prison near Philadelphia while the appeal proceeds.

The lawyers said trial Judge Steven O'Neill had a feud with a pretrial witness, the ex-prosecutor who had declined to charge Cosby in 2005. And they said his decisions to assign himself the case, let five other accusers testify, air Cosby's prior deposition testimony about quaaludes and dismiss the ex-prosecutor's promise not to charge Cosby are mistakes that warrant a new trial.

"The trial court erred in failing to disclose his bias against District Attorney (Bruce) Castor, and in failing to recuse himself, prior to determining (his) credibility," wrote lawyer Brian Perry of Harrisburg, the latest of more than a dozen lawyers to represent Cosby in the case.

A jury convicted Cosby at a spring retrial of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004, in what became the first celebrity trial of the #MeToo era. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, through a spokeswoman, declined to comment on Tuesday's filing.

Cosby — whose estimated fortune from his TV shows, comedy tours and product pitches once topped $400 million — was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting accuser Andrea Constand. The entertainer, who is legally blind, spends his days in a one-man cell and private day room, in a new state prison about 20 miles from his sprawling estate near Philadelphia, where the crime occurred.

In a deposition in Constand's 2005 civil suit, Cosby called the 2004 encounter consensual and his feelings for her romantic. Constand considered him a mentor with close ties to her boss at Temple, where she worked for the women's basketball team. She was about 30 and Cosby, a Temple trustee, about 66. The key issues raised on appeal Tuesday include:

Legal experts believe Cosby's best shot on appeal may be the judge's decision, without comment, to hear from five other accusers when he'd allowed just one at Cosby's first trial in 2017, when the jury deadlocked. The law permits "prior bad act" witnesses only in very limited circumstances, usually to show a "signature" crime pattern. In Cosby's case, all five women said they thought they'd been drugged and molested. The defense Tuesday called their testimony "too remote in time" and "too dissimilar" to Constand's accusation.

As Cosby's sentencing neared, his wife Camille filed an ethics complaint against O'Neill over his supposed personal and political feud with Castor. O'Neill, in the pretrial hearing, had found no evidence that Castor's decision not to charge Cosby was binding on his successors. The defense Tuesday said Cosby relied on Castor's promise in agreeing to testify — and potentially incriminate himself — in Constand's civil suit.

The judge allowed prosecutors to use several excerpts from Cosby's damaging deposition in Constand's 2005 lawsuit, which ended with a $3.4 million settlement. Juror Harrison Snyder later told ABC-TV the deposition - in which Cosby admitted getting Quaaludes to give women before sex - was the key evidence that made him think he was guilty.

Cosby, once revered as "America's Dad" for playing the beloved Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," could spend a decade in prison, given the way O'Neill fashioned his sentence. The three-year minimum appears well within the 1- to 4-year state guidelines. But O'Neill attached an unusual 10-year maximum, which could keep Cosby from getting parole unless he acknowledges his sexual offenses and completes sex-offender therapy. O'Neill, based in part on expert testimony about other accusers, judged Cosby a "sexually violent predator" and said his wealth and power made it possible he could still reoffend. The label makes Cosby subject to police registration and community alerts should he be released from prison.</s>(Reuters) - Attorneys for Bill Cosby outlined their grounds on Tuesday for appealing his sexual assault conviction, citing what they called errors in legal procedure that may have biased the jury and warrant a new trial for the once-beloved comedian.

The 81-year-old performer, best known for his role as the lovable family man and physician on the hit television sitcom "The Cosby Show," was found guilty by a Pennsylvania jury in April of drugging and sexually assaulting a onetime friend in 2004.

It marked the first such criminal conviction of a celebrity accused of sexual misconduct since the #MeToo movement that has brought down dozens of powerful, privileged men in American media, politics and business since the autumn of 2017.

In September, the trial judge, Steven O'Neill, designated Cosby a "sexually violent predator" under Pennsylvania law, requiring the entertainer to register as a sex offender for life, and sentenced him to a term of three to 10 years in prison.

Cosby, who is married, has insisted all along that any sexual encounters he had were consensual. He was found guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

In an eight-page filing laying out the basis of their appeal, Cosby's lawyers focused on several instances they said introduced bias into the trial, including the judge's refusal to excuse a juror that the defense argued was unable to be fair and impartial.

The defense asserted that the juror in question had stated an inclination to believe Cosby guilty at the outset of the trial and that fellow jurors were never interviewed to determine whether they had heard the comment or were swayed by it.

In addition, according to the filing, O'Neill failed to recuse himself or disclose a biased relationship with Bruce Castor, a former Montgomery County district attorney with whom defense lawyers said the judge had a confrontation.

Cosby's lawyers have argued that Castor promised in 2005 that Cosby would not be prosecuted if he agreed to sit for a sworn deposition in a civil suit brought against him by his accuser, former Temple University administrator Andrea Constand.

That deposition, in which Cosby acknowledged giving sedatives called Quaaludes to young women for purposes of having sex with them, was unsealed a decade later, and Castor's successor, District Attorney Kevin Steele, cited it as a crucial piece of evidence when criminal charges were brought.

The judge should not have allowed Cosby's civil deposition testimony about Quaaludes to be introduced in his criminal trial, the defense said, arguing it was not relevant to Constand's allegations and was highly prejudicial because it included statements regarding the illegal act of giving a narcotic to another person.

Cosby's attorneys also faulted the judge for allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses other accusers whose allegations, the defense argued, were too remote in time and too dissimilar to Constand's allegations.

Moreover, the defense asserted that a prosecution expert who testified relied on hearsay evidence of about 50 additional women who had leveled sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby.

Under the state's appeals process, the trial judge will write an opinion by explaining his reasoning for the rulings the defense has challenged, and the matter will ultimately be decided by Pennsylvania's appellate-level Superior Court.

A representative for the prosecution did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing.</s>Cosby, once revered as "America's Dad" for playing the beloved Dr. Cliff Huxtable on "The Cosby Show," could spend a decade in prison, given the way O'Neill fashioned his sentence. The three-year minimum appears well within the 1- to 4-year state guidelines. But O'Neill attached an unusual 10-year maximum, which could keep Cosby from getting parole unless he acknowledges his sexual offenses and completes sex-offender therapy. O'Neill, based in part on expert testimony about other accusers, judged Cosby a "sexually violent predator" and said his wealth and power made it possible he could still reoffend. The label makes Cosby subject to police registration and community alerts should he be released from prison.</s>By Michael R. Sisak, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Prosecutors and the defence began the difficult task of picking a jury for Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial Monday amid a powerful #MeToo movement that has pierced the consciousness of the men and women who will sit in judgment of the 80-year-old comedian.

All but one of the 120 potential jurors who answered questions about their background and views told a judge they had heard or seen something about #MeToo, the cultural campaign that’s been exposing sexual misconduct in the entertainment and news industries.

Jury selection got off to an exceedingly slow start, with a single juror seated and three-quarters of the pool dismissed for cause — primarily because the prospective jurors already had formed an opinion about Cosby’s guilt or innocence. In contrast, five jurors were picked on opening day of Cosby’s first trial.
• Cosby lawyers ask for ban on slogan-filled items at retrial

Cosby is charged with drugging and sexually molesting a Temple University women’s basketball administrator at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the sexual encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual. His last trial ended in a hung jury.

The former TV star once known as “America’s Dad” for his portrayal of kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his NBC hit The Cosby Show was in the courtroom as jury selection got underway.

The first and only juror to be selected Monday indicated he had no knowledge of the case and wouldn’t let what he’s heard about #MeToo influence his ability to be impartial. He was one of only 10 prospective jurors to indicate they hadn’t heard anything about the charges against Cosby. More than half said they already had made up their minds about Cosby, and all of them were dismissed.

In all, prosecutors and the defence removed a total of 91 potential jurors before breaking for the day, leaving only 28 from this group to fill the remaining 17 slots. A second group of 120 potential jurors was to be brought to the courthouse Tuesday.

Judge Steven O’Neill made several rulings in the case but said they wouldn’t be public until Tuesday morning. Among the key issues that need to be sorted out before opening statements is a defence request to allow testimony from a woman who says Constand spoke of framing a celebrity before she went to police with allegations Cosby drugged and molested her.

The judge also has to decide whether the jury can hear details about the 2006 financial settlement Cosby reached with Constand.

O’Neill told the jury pool the trial could last more than a month, adding the panel would be sequestered in a “very nice” hotel. About half said the length of the trial would pose a hardship.

The jury in Cosby’s first trial deadlocked last June, months before #MeToo started toppling famous men in rapid succession, among them movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Today show host Matt Lauer, actor Kevin Spacey and Democratic U.S. Sen. Al Franken.

Veteran lawyers and jury consultants say #MeToo could cut both ways for Cosby, making some potential jurors more hostile and others more likely to think men are being unfairly accused.

Last year’s trial was mostly a case of he-said-she-said. For the retrial, a judge has ruled that jurors can hear from five additional accusers, giving prosecutors a chance to portray Cosby as a serial predator.

The jury questioning revealed some potential witnesses, including Dawn Staley, the South Carolina women’s basketball coach who was Constand’s boss at Temple; Temple board President Patrick O’Connor, who represented Cosby in Constand’s 2005-06 lawsuit against him; and Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, the former district attorney who charged Cosby just before she left office in 2015.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.</s>And they say his decisions to let five other accusers testify, air some of Cosby's deposition from the accuser's lawsuit and dismiss the promise not to charge Cosby are grounds for a new trial.
The lawyers of Bill Cosby file a list of nearly a dozen alleged trial errors as they appeal his sexual assault conviction and three-to-10-year prison term.