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Bill Cosby Trial Pushed to Next Year — Here’s Why

Aug 22, 2017  •  Post A Comment

The retrial of fallen TV icon Bill Cosby, 80, on sexual assault charges became more of a waiting game today as Judge Steven O’Neill granted a request by Cosby’s defense team to postpone the trial.

As we reported previously, Cosby has been assembling a new legal team, with Tom Mesereau, Kathleen Bliss and Sam Silver on board. Mesereau is known for his work in celebrity cases, including his successful defense of Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation case.

Cosby faces charges stemming from a 2004 incident in which he is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand. His trial earlier this year in the case ended in a hung jury.

The retrial had been scheduled to start in November, but the Cosby team succeeded in convincing the judge that they need more time to get up to speed.

The AP quotes O’Neill saying from the bench: “To ask someone to review the voluminous record over 18 months — now 20 months in this case — simply cannot be done.”

“The judge on Tuesday asked Cosby’s lawyers to consider a start date sometime between March 15 and April 1,” the AP reports. “He said he’ll issue a firm date once they get back to him.”

Outside court, District Attorney Kevin Steele told reporters: “Hopefully they’ll get up to speed quickly so we can bring this case to justice. It’s a case that deserves a verdict and we intend to get there.”

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