Judge Delays Bill Cosby Retrial Until Spring
After closed-door discussions with lawyers from both sides, Judge O’Neill said:
“I will not be receiving a new motion seeking a change of venue or venire.”
But the new team, led by Tom Mesereau — who successfully defended the singer Michael
Jackson on child-abuse charges — did ask for more time to prepare its case.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas also said
that he expected the jury to be selected from the local county rather than from the other side of Pennsylvania, where the jurors who sat for Mr. Cosby’s first trial were selected.
NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Bill Cosby’s retrial on sexual assault charges will take place next March, five months later than previously
planned, to allow his new defense team time to prepare for the case, a Pennsylvania judge ruled on Tuesday.
Mr. Cosby’s legal team for the first trial had sought a change of venue, arguing
that pretrial publicity had possibly biased potential jurors from Montgomery County, an area just outside Philadelphia where Mr. Cosby owns a home.
“We are confident our case and the evidence will be ready when we get a trial date from the judge.”
For the retrial, Judge O’Neill expressed confidence that impartial jurors could be found in Montgomery County.