Attorneys finalize 12-person jury for sexual assault trial of Bill Cosby
Attorneys on Wednesday settled on a jury of seven men and five women from Allegheny County to hear the sexual assault trial of comedian and television icon Bill Cosby.
One black man and one black woman are on the 12-person jury. Six alternates were selected: four white men, one black woman and one black man.
Cosby thanked the people of Allegheny County, describing them as “wonderful” when he departed the downtown Pittsburgh courthouse just after 6 p.m. He thanked the sheriff's department for helping the three-day process run smoothly.
He then added, “I just want to thank all of the people who have come to see my shows whenever I appeared at Heinz Hall” in Pittsburgh.
In the Cosby trial, scheduled for June 5, the pool of potential jurors was selected in Allegheny County because Cosby's attorneys argued that pretrial publicity would make it difficult to find impartial jury candidates in Montgomery County, where Cosby lives.
The jurors will be bussed to Montgomery County and sequestered in a hotel for the entire process. The jury came from two pools, totaling 193 Allegheny County residents.
On Tuesday, Cosby's attorney Brian McMonagle complained to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Steven T. O'Neill that there weren't enough minorities on the jury.
However, McMonagle said he was “very satisfied” with the jury when he left court Wednesday evening.
“This is a remarkable place with remarkable people,” he said.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele described the complaints about racial makeup as “nonsense.”
“It is a terrific jury made up of people from all demographics all over Allegheny County,” he said. “We actually think we did better in terms of diversity than the demographics.”
Allegheny County is 13 percent black, and the jury makeup is about 17 percent black.
After jury selection ended, O'Neill, who is presiding over Cosby's trial, praised Allegheny County for its accommodations.
“This is the absolute model of how this is supposed to work,” O'Neill said as court concluded.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, one juror who had been chosen on Monday was removed — a white man O'Neill said was exempted for “deeply personal reasons.”
Another woman, chosen to take his place, said she could serve on the jury despite having a 2-year-old child at home.
“If I was called upon to do it, I would do it,” she told O'Neill.
Nearly all of the chosen jurors said they had heard something about the criminal case, promising to remain objective in considering evidence. Their ages range from 20s to 70s.
Cosby, 79, is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University women's basketball team manager in 2004 in his suburban Philadelphia home. He is free on $100,000 bond and faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
The trial is expected to last at least two weeks.
Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer.
