Bill Cosby’s long battle with the sexual assault charges levied against him is not yet over and will in fact start once again with a retrial in November, which was set after the last trial in the case ended in a mistrial a couple of weeks ago. Considering the recent turn of events, however, the accused actor’s camp could possibly seek a change of venue for the next battle.
The Cosby Show star and co-creator’s last match in his grueling resistance against the sexual assault case occurred around the middle of June, although that one ended in a mistrial after the jurors were deadlocked and could not come to any single deliberation result. Now, the actor will have to face the court once again in November 6, in a retrial set to possibly pick up where the last one left off according to NBC News .
The June trial reportedly ended after 52 hours of deliberations between the jurors, yet they were not able to reach a unanimous verdict possibly due to a number of them finding the affairs emotional. Bobby Dugan, one of the jurors, said that the retrial was necessary regardless of the final verdict, although he believed Cosby was guilty; by contrast, another anonymous juror told reporters that a retrial would simply be a waste of resources and that the actor had already paid for his transgressions.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill is presiding over the case, with the suit filed by former Temple University employee Andrea Constand who alleged Cosby drugged and molested her back in 2004. Constand’s case, which she started in 2015 after a settlement in 2005, is the only one still pretty much alive in Cosby’s sexual assault fight thanks to Pennsylvania’s 12-year statute of limitations.
Judge O’Neill’s order on the retrial was shared online via Deadline , with the time and venue set for 9:00 a.m. on Monday, November 6, at the Courtroom “A” of the Montgomery County Courthouse. However, there are speculations that the actor’s attorneys could seek a different presiding judge as well as a new venue on the grounds that O’Neill and the Montgomery Court have been too strained by the case’s failure and media exposure.
The defendant’s camp had no comment to give regarding the retrial when contacted, so the above could end up not being the case. Yet with the retrial still about four months away, there are plenty of time for Bill Cosby’s lawyers to formulate new plans.
[Featured Image by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images]