httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6UFDNuNO3E
A full 12-member jury has been selected for Bill Cosby’s June 5 sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, reports The New York Times.
At Cosby’s team’s request, the jury was selected from the surrounding Pittsburgh area and will be bused 300 miles east of Norristown and sequestered throughout the trial.
Though Judge Steven T. O’Neill granted Cosby’s team’s request for a sequestered jury, they have taken issue with other areas of the jury selection, namely diversity.
“We believe it is paramount that t be a diverse jury and we believe that we cannot get a diverse jury,” Brian J. McMonagle, one of Cosby’s lawyers, said, per The Times.
One juror’s exclusion caused concern for Cosby’s team when the prosecution blocked her from the jury; Cosby’s team claimed it was a “Systematic exclusion” based on race.
Judge O’Neill sided with the prosecution, and the woman was not included on the jury.
This is not the first time that someone close to Cosby has brought up race as an issue in the upcoming trial.
“Could be, could be,” Cosby responded when Smerconish asked him if he thought racism played a role in his trial.