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Montgomery County
Judge Steven O'Neill will hear arguments on what appears to be
the only major pretrial issue remaining in Cosby's sexual
assault case, three days after he ruled that prosecutors can
call a second accuser as a witness. The trial is scheduled for
June.
Cosby, 79, is facing charges that he sexually assaulted Andrea
Constand, a former assistant basketball coach at his alma mater
Temple University, in 2004.
The case is the only criminal prosecution resulting from
accusations against the entertainer by more than four dozen
women, though the deluge of allegations has shattered his once
family-friendly reputation.
Cosby has denied any wrongdoing and has said his encounter with
Constand, like the others, was consensual.
Cosby's lawyers have argued in court papers for either moving
the trial to another Pennsylvania county, known as a change in
venue, or importing jurors to Montgomery County from elsewhere
in the state, known as a change in venire.
The defense noted that Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin
Steele, who is leading the prosecution, campaigned in 2015 by
criticizing a predecessor for failing to pursue the Cosby case.
The resulting news coverage has made selecting an impartial jury
from the county impossible, they argued.
Prosecutors oppose moving the trial but have consented to a
change in venire. However, they have balked at Cosby's
suggestion that only a county with more than 1.2 million people
can yield a large enough jury pool to ensure fairness.
In court filings, Steele has pointed out that only Pittsburgh
and Philadelphia meet that criterion and said the defense
appears to be shopping for a favorable jury.
Under state law, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court selects the new
county when a judge approves a change of venire.
On Friday, in a blow to Cosby's defense, O'Neill ruled that
prosecutors could call at trial another woman who has accused
him of a similar assault in the 1990s. The district attorney's
office had sought to call as many as 13 other women.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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