Monday 19 June 2017

What happens now that Bill Cosby's sexual-assault case has been declared a mistrial

Bill Cosby trial June 2017

Early this month, Bill Cosby went on trial on sexual-assault charges involving Andrea Constand, alleged to have happened more than a decade ago.

After five days of deliberation, the jury couldn't reach a unanimous decision and the judge declared a mistrial.

Constand, a former Temple University employee, told police that the now 79-year-old comedian drugged and violated her at his home near Philadelphia in 2004.

It's the first criminal case against Cosby over his conduct with women. Over the past few years, over 60 women have accused him of sexual assault. 

Here are the major developments during the trial, and what could happen next after the mistrial:

SEE ALSO: Bill Cosby accuser gives emotional testimony: 'I had a secret about the biggest celebrity'

The juror selection process took days.

Ultimately, seven men and five women were selected. According to Philly.com, more than a third of the 100 potential jurors said that they had already decided whether Cosby was innocent or guilty. 

 



Day 1: One of Cosby's many accusers took the stand.

She worked as Cosby's former agent's assistant. She described in detail how Cosby had allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her at a Los Angeles hotel 20 years ago.

Besides Constand, she was the only accuser out of more than 60 women who was permitted to testify at the trial.

Source: Philly.com



Day 2: Andrea Constand took the stand and spoke about her alleged assault for the first time in public.

Her testimony took three hours. Constand went to police about a year after she says Cosby assaulted her, but at the time a prosecutor said her case was too weak for any charges. 

Source: Philly.com



See the rest of the story at Business Insider
What happens now that Bill Cosby's sexual-assault case has been declared a mistrial posted first on http://lawpallp.tumblr.com

No comments:

Post a Comment