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 But the familiar trappings cannot disguise the reality that
Cosby's second trial on charges that he assaulted a former
friend in 2004 will have significant differences from his first.
Cosby's second trial will also play out against the backdrop of
the #MeToo movement, which last autumn prompted a wave of sexual
assault and misconduct accusations against dozens of powerful
men in Hollywood, business and politics.
The movement has also stirred a national dialogue about the way
society treats people who step forward to tell stories of sexual
abuse.
More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assaults dating
back decades. The entertainer, now 80, has denied all of the
accusations, saying any sexual encounters he may have had were
consensual.
The Pennsylvania case, brought by Andrea Constand, a former
administrator at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater, is the
only criminal prosecution to result from the accusations, most
of which are too old to allow for charges.
At the second trial, five other Cosby accusers are expected to
take the stand under oath and detail their accusations against
him. Their testimony could bolster the prosecution's argument
that the celebrity best known for his role as the benign
patriarch on "The Cosby Show" was a serial predator who preyed
on vulnerable women.
The trial judge, Steven O'Neill, allowed prosecutors to call
only one of the other accusers to the stand during the first
trial. She told jurors that Cosby drugged and assaulted her in
1996, in much the same manner that Constand testified Cosby did
to her in 2004 at his home.
This time, prosecutors had sought to call as many as 19 other
accusers, while defense attorneys objected to allowing any to
appear, arguing that they would unduly prejudice the jury.
O'Neill ruled that prosecutors could call up to five women from
a group of eight accusers that includes former model and
television personality Janice Dickinson.
Such "prior bad act" witnesses are typically barred for fear
jurors will be more likely to convict a defendant based on past
behavior, rather than the specific charges before them. In rare
cases, judges have permitted such testimony to show a defendant
engaged in a pattern of behavior, using a particular modus
operandi.
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"It's not a good day for the defense whenever a judge allows these
types of witnesses to be called," said Douglas Sughrue, a
Pittsburgh-based defense lawyer. "You're obviously now not just
fighting one victim."
Studies have shown that mock juries are far more likely to convict
defendants after hearing from multiple prior accusers, particularly
in sexual crime cases, according to Aviva Orenstein, a law professor
at Indiana University and an expert in trial evidence.
"Even if he were able to discredit each individual woman, at a
certain point, the jury is going to think, where there's smoke,
there's fire," she said.
The #MeToo movement has also stressed a need to be more receptive to
accusers' accounts.
"There's no doubt the environment is more sensitive," Sughrue said.
"Your audience is maybe more sensitive to it, they're maybe more
aware of it."
The defense case will also have some major differences, starting
with the lawyers. Cosby's new attorney is Los Angeles-based Tom
Mesereau, best known for successfully defending singer Michael
Jackson at his 2005 child molestation trial.
The defense has said it would seek to portray Constand as a liar
motivated by a desire to get a piece of Cosby's fortune. That
strategy got a boost this week when the judge said he would allow
testimony from a woman who claims Constand mused aloud about falsely
accusing a famous man to get money.
He also said the defense could introduce evidence of Cosby's payment
to Constand to settle her civil lawsuit, a detail that has been kept
from public view, including the jury from the first trial.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Frank McGurty)
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