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> Disgraced US megastar Bill Cosby will stand trial June 5, 2017 for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman at his Philadelphia home more than a decade ago, a judge ruled Tuesday.

The pioneering black comedian faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. He had returned to court on Tuesday in Pennsylvania as part of multiple attempts to avoid standing trial for the alleged 2004 assault.

But Judge Steven O’Neill set the June trial date regardless, and said proceedings could begin earlier if schedules permit.

Up to 13 other women may testify at the trial if Montgomery County prosecutor Kevin Steele gets his way, although Cosby’s legal team will likely put up fierce resistance to any such attempt.

Dressed in a pinstripe jacket and gray pants, Cosby had appeared animated and engaged in conversation with his lawyers before Tuesday’s hearing at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, northwest of Philadelphia.

Cosby allegedly plied Andrea Constand with pills and wine, then sat her down on a couch, where the actor allegedly assaulted her in 2004. Constand, who worked for the Temple University basketball team, now lives in Canada.

Going to trial cements a brutal fall from grace for the once treasured father figure, apparent model citizen and award-winning comedian who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

Cosby’s legal team said Tuesday their client was “not giving up the fight for his rights” and accused a lawyer representing other alleged sexual assault victims of waging a campaign built “on racial bias and prejudice.”

“When the media repeats her accusations — with no evidence, no trial and no jury — we are moved backwards as a country and away from the America that our civil rights leaders sacrificed so much to create,” they said.

More than 50 women have publicly painted Cosby as a serial sexual predator who plied victims with sedatives and alcohol to have sex and make them unable to resist his advances over four decades.

Those allegations have seen celebrity pals and millions more malign the legend who attained his greatest fame for his role as a lovable obstetrician and family man in the hit 1980s television sitcom “The Cosby Show.”

The vast majority of the alleged abuses happened too long ago to prosecute, making the Constand case the only criminal charge brought against Cosby.

The former star posted bail at $1 million in the case last December, but has yet to enter a plea.

If he pleads guilty, he could avoid the enormous publicity that will come with one of America’s most famous entertainers going on trial.

Cosby has become a pariah since an avalanche of women accused him of feeding them pills and having sex with them. In the Constand case, Cosby has admitted giving her a pill but accuses her of lying about the assault.

The case was initially settled by a civil suit in 2006 but prosecutors reopened it by saying that new evidence came to light in July.

Cosby’s most famous role was as Cliff Huxtable, the affable father of an upper middle class black family in New York, in “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992.

It was one of the most popular TV series of all time and jettisoned the actor into a life of fame and millions, following a humble childhood during which he was raised by a maid and a US Navy cook.

Cosby served in the Navy himself and won an athletic scholarship to Temple, before moving into standup comedy. In addition to television, he wrote books and appeared in movies.

His wife Camille has stood by his side. The couple have five children. Their son Ennis was shot dead in 1997 while changing a flat tire in California. </s> Disgraced US megastar Bill Cosby is due to stand trial for sexual assault on June 5, 2017 in what could see up to 13 other alleged victims testify against the award-winning comedian turned pariah.

Judge Steven O’Neill set the date after the 79-year-old pioneering black comedian made multiple attempts to head off the possibility of a trial stemming from one alleged incident at his Philadelphia home in 2004.

But O’Neill advised lawyers that the trial could start even earlier if schedules permit. He also said that given the defence assertion that Cosby is blind, the defendant may require special assistance in court.

Andrea Constand, who worked for the Temple University basketball team at the time, alleges that Cosby plied her with pills and wine, then sat her down on a couch at his Philadelphia home where he assaulted her.

Cosby says he gave her a pill, but insists their relations with consensual. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine if convicted.

Dressed in a pinstripe jacket and gray pants, Cosby had appeared animated and engaged in conversation with his lawyers before Tuesday’s hearing at Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, northwest of Philadelphia.

But the prospective trial cements a brutal fall from grace for the once treasured father figure and apparent model citizen who smashed through racial barriers and delighted audiences with his gentle, self-deprecating humor.

In recent years, more than 50 women have publicly accused him of being a sexual predator spanning four decades, making remarkably similar allegations that he fed them sedatives and alcohol that made them unable to resist his advances.

The vast majority of the alleged abuses happened too long ago to prosecute, making the Constand case the only criminal charge brought against Cosby.

Montgomery County prosecutor Kevin Steele told the court that he wants up to 13 other alleged victims to testify at trial. The judge has yet to agree and Cosby‘s legal team will likely put up fierce resistance.

The defense vowed their client would continue “the fight for his rights” and accused a lawyer representing other alleged sexual assault victims of waging a campaign built “on racial bias and prejudice.”

“When the media repeats her accusations — with no evidence, no trial and no jury — we are moved backwards as a country and away from the America that our civil rights leaders sacrificed so much to create,” they said.

Those allegations have seen celebrity pals and millions more malign the legend who attained his greatest fame for his role as a lovable obstetrician and family man in the hit 1980s television sitcom “The Cosby Show.”

The Constand case was initially settled by a civil suit in 2006 but prosecutors reopened claiming that new evidence had come to light.

The former star posted bail at $1 million in the case last December, but has yet to enter a plea.

If he pleads guilty, Cosby could avoid the enormous publicity that will come with one of America’s most famous entertainers going on trial.

In her original deposition in January 2005, Constand said Cosby plied her with pills and wine, then sat her down on a couch, where the actor allegedly fondled her breasts, put his fingers in her vagina and put her hand on his erect penis.

Cosby‘s legal team mock Constand’s credibility, saying she chopped and changed her evidence, and omitted from the final version lying down on a bed next to the actor and later visiting his home for dinner.

Constand, who now lives in Canada, has yet to appear at any public hearing.

Cosby‘s most famous role was as Cliff Huxtable, the affable father of an upper middle class black family in New York, in “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992.

It was one of the most popular TV series of all time and jettisoned the actor into a life of fame and millions, following a humble childhood during which he was raised by a maid and a US Navy cook.

Cosby served in the Navy himself and won an athletic scholarship to Temple, before moving into comedy. In addition to television, he wrote books and appeared in movies.

His wife Camille has stood by his side. The couple have five children. Their son Ennis was shot dead in 1997 while changing a flat tire in California. </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> (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen, center, and Bill Cosby's defense attorney Angela Agrusa enter the courtroom during jury deliberat...

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, center, and Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen, left, enter the courtroom during jury deliberations in Bill Cosy's sexual assault trial at t...

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Andrea Constand, right, returns to the courtroom at the Montgomery County Courthouse during Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa. Cosby is accused of drugging and sexual...

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum). Bill Cosby shakes hands with his lawyer Brian McMonagle as they leave the Montgomery County Courthouse during Cosby's sexual assault trial, Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum). Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse during his sexual assault trial, Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A new round of deliberations is raising the prospects that Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial will end with a verdict instead of a hung jury.

Jurors who have appeared stressed and even angry seemed more upbeat as they left court outside Philadelphia Thursday night than on previous nights, despite enduring another marathon session.

The sequestered jurors had deliberated about 30 hours before telling Judge Steven O'Neill earlier Thursday that they couldn't reach a unanimous decision on any of the counts against the 79-year-old comedian. The judge told them to try again for a verdict.

As the jurors left for the day, O'Neill heaped praise on them, thanking them for their dedication and the sacrifice they've made being 300 miles (482 kilometers) from home in the Pittsburgh area.

"I want to reiterate how proud I am of each and every one of you," O'Neill said as he sent the jury back to the hotel. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've done."

They will get back to it Friday morning.

Cosby is charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault stemming from Andrea Constand's allegations that he drugged and violated her at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Each count carries a maximum 10-year prison term, though the counts could be merged at sentencing if Cosby is convicted.

Cosby's lawyer said he and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual moment of intimacy.

The jury of seven men and five women have deliberated for nearly 40 hours since getting the case Monday.

Cosby's spokesman said the impasse showed that jurors doubted Constand's story.

"They're conflicted about the inconsistencies in Ms. Constand's testimony," spokesman Andrew Wyatt said. "And they're hearing Mr. C.'s testimony, and he's extremely truthful. And that's created this doubt."

Constand's lawyer, Dolores Troiani, said only that the "jury is apparently working very hard." The district attorney's office declined to comment.

Dozens of women have come forward to say Cosby had drugged and assaulted them, but this was the only case to result in criminal charges.

The jury must come to a unanimous decision to convict or acquit. If the panel can't break the deadlock, the judge could declare a hung jury and a mistrial. In that case, prosecutors would get four months to decide whether they want to retry the TV star or drop the charges.

The case has already helped demolish his image as America's Dad, cultivated during his eight-year run as kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the top-rated "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s and '90s.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

For more on Cosby, including trial updates, historical photos, videos and an audio series exploring the case, visit http://www.apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Comedian Bill Cosby is scheduled to return to a Pennsylvania state court on Tuesday, two months after a judge rejected his latest bid to have criminal sexual assault charges dismissed.

The 79-year-old entertainer is accused of drugging and then assaulting Andrea Constand, a former basketball coach at his alma mater Temple University, at his home in 2004.

Cosby is facing similar allegations from about 60 women stretching back decades, though the Constand case is the only one to result in criminal charges, mostly because the other alleged attacks are too old for prosecution.

The former star of the hit 1980s TV series “The Cosby Show,” who built a long career on family-friendly comedy, has denied assaulting anyone and portrayed his sexual relationships with the women, including Constand, as consensual.

The hearing is expected to focus on scheduling matters. A trial date has not yet been set. Cosby, who is free on $1 million bail, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill in July rejected Cosby’s claim that his rights were violated at a May preliminary hearing because prosecutors declined to put Constand on the stand.

Cosby’s legal team on Tuesday will not include Monique Pressley, a Washington-based attorney who had become the public face of his defense through frequent appearances in the media on his behalf. Pressley has left the case, according to court filings.

Cosby’s lawyers are seeking to prevent prosecutors from using a 2005 deposition taken during Constand’s civil lawsuit as evidence against him at trial. Cosby acknowledged in the deposition that he had given Quaaludes to various women with whom he had consensual sexual encounters, though he also denied assaulting Constand. </s> Prosecutors said on Tuesday they intend to call more than a dozen accusers as witnesses against comedian Bill Cosby at his sexual assault trial.

During a hearing on Tuesday, Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O'Neill in Norristown tentatively scheduled Cosby's trial for June 5, 2017, giving both sides months to pursue what will likely be a fiercely fought series of legal battles over the scope of evidence allowed at trial.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's office asked O'Neill's permission to introduce the testimony of 13 women who claim the 78-year-old entertainer assaulted them.

The names of the women were not disclosed in court filings on Tuesday.

Cosby is charged with drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004 at his Pennsylvania home.

Approximately 60 women have accused Cosby of attacking them over several decades, though the Constand case is the only one to result in a criminal prosecution thus far.

The former star of the 1980s TV series The Cosby Show, who built a long career on family-friendly comedy, has denied assaulting anyone and has portrayed his sexual relationships with the women, including Constand, as consensual.

In general, a defendant's prior bad acts are not admissible as evidence that he or she committed a particular crime.

Prosecutors, however, are sometimes allowed to use evidence or witnesses to prove a defendant committed a crime as part of along standing pattern of behavior.

Numerous women have accused Cosby of strikingly similar sexual assaults, claiming that he plied them with alcohol and drugs before taking advantage of their altered mental state.

Judges typically weigh the value of such evidence against the possibility that it will unfairly prejudice a jury.

Cosby's lawyers, meanwhile, have made their own motions seeking to limit the evidence. They have asked O'Neill to bar the district attorney's office from introducing a telephone conversation between Cosby and Constand's mother that was secretly recorded, as well as a deposition from Constand's civil lawsuit against Cosby in which the comedian admitted giving Quaaludes to women before sexual encounters.

In addition, Brian McMonagle, the lead defense lawyer, said on Tuesday he planned to request that the trial be movedelsewhere. He suggested the pool of potential jurors in Montgomery County had been tainted because the Constand case became a major campaign issue when District Attorney KevinSteele ran for office last year.

Cosby, who is free on $1 million bail, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison if convicted. </s> Jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial have returned for a fifth day of deliberations.

Jurors in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial have returned for a fifth day of deliberations.

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen, center, and Bill Cosby's defense attorney Angela Agrusa enter the courtroom during jury deliberation

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, center, and Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen, left, enter the courtroom during jury deliberations in Bill Cosy's sexual assault trial.

(Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Pool Photo via AP). Andrea Constand, right, returns to the courtroom at the Montgomery County Courthouse during Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

(AP Photo/Matt Slocum). Bill Cosby shakes hands with his lawyer Brian McMonagle as they leave the Montgomery County Courthouse during Cosby's sexual assault trial, Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Bill Cosby thanked his fans and supporters on Friday as a jury deliberated sexual assault charges that could send him to prison for the rest of his life, sending a tweet shortly after the panel asked to review his devastating testimony about giving drugs to women he wanted to have sex with.

It was the first Twitter message from Cosby in more than a week and came as jurors spent a fifth day in talks, trying to break an impasse that has raised the possibility of a mistrial for the 79-year-old TV star.

The panel returned to the courtroom to listen to what Cosby had to say about his use of the now-banned party drug quaaludes.

Cosby testified in a 2006 deposition that he got seven prescriptions for the powerful sedative in the 1970s for the purpose of giving them to women before sex.

The testimony is relevant because Cosby is charged with drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004.

He has said he gave Benadryl to Constand, 44, before what he insisted was a consensual sexual encounter. Prosecutors have suggested he might have given her quaaludes.

Cosby, who gave the deposition as part of Constand's civil lawsuit against him, said in 2006 he never took quaaludes himself, preferring to keep it on hand for social situations.

"When you got the quaaludes, was it in your mind that you were going to use these quaaludes for young women that you wanted to have sex with?" Cosby was asked.

But he said he no longer had the quaaludes - a highly popular party drug in the 1970s that was banned in the U.S. in 1982 - when he met Constand in 2002 at Temple University.

Cosby's lawyer said he and Constand were lovers sharing a consensual moment of intimacy.

Jurors also asked for the definition of "reasonable doubt" on Friday, a day after telling the judge they were deadlocked on all charges and the judge instructed them to keep trying for a verdict.

The panel has been working for more than 40 hours since getting the case on Monday.

The jury went back to the deliberating room after having the quaaludes testimony read back to them and listening again to the definition of reasonable doubt, the threshold that prosecutions must cross to win a conviction.

Judge Steven O'Neill said Friday that defense lawyers have made at least four bids for a mistrial as the deliberations have worn on without a verdict. But he said he'd let the jurors work as long as they wanted. The judge brought Cosby into court to make sure he'd approved of the mistrial requests, asking the comedian if he knew that a mistrial would mean he could be prosecuted again.

O'Neill also called out Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt for taking to the courthouse steps and telling reporters the case should end in a mistrial.

"You have a spokesman who is explaining to the media what a mistrial means - at least what he believes a mistrial is," O'Neill told Cosby in court.

Dozens of women have come forward to say Cosby had drugged and assaulted them, but this was the only case to result in criminal charges.

The jury must come to a unanimous decision to convict or acquit. If the panel can't break the deadlock, the judge could declare a hung jury and a mistrial. In that case, prosecutors would get four months to decide whether they want to retry the TV star or drop the charges.

The case has already helped demolish his image as America's Dad, cultivated during his eight-year run as kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on the top-rated "The Cosby Show" in the 1980s and '90s.

The Associated Press does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

For more on Cosby, including trial updates, historical photos, videos and an audio series exploring the case, visit http://www.apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </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.
A judge in Pennsylvania schedules the dates for the trial of accused U.S. comedian Bill Cosby.