PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Latest on jury selection in Bill Cosby’s sex assault case (all times local):
6:35 p.m.
Bill Cosby’s lawyers accused Pennsylvania prosecutors of trying to “systematically” keep blacks off the jury after prosecutors used their strikes to keep two black women off the panel.
Judge Steven O’Neill for now rejected the argument after prosecutors said the second woman was a former detective who had sued Pittsburgh and may have an anti-government bias.
The 11 people chosen so far include one black juror. Lawyers return Wednesday to seek the final juror and six alternates.
O’Neill said he would revisit the issue if defense lawyer Brian McMonagle offered statistical evidence to back his discrimination complaint.
The 100 people summoned to the Allegheny County courthouse so far included 16 people of color. A new jury pool will be summoned Wednesday.
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3:35 p.m.
Ten people have now been selected to serve on the Pennsylvania jury hearing Bill Cosby’s sex assault case.
A black woman who said she knows only “basic information” about the case and a white man who initially expressed a tendency to believe police are now on the panel.
The male juror said he can put that aside if instructed to do so, and defense lawyers accepted him on the panel.
The jury so far consists of six men and four women. Only one of them is black. Cosby has said he believes the case may have racial overtones.
Lawyers need 12 jurors and six alternates total for the trial starting June 5 near Philadelphia.
Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a woman at his home in 2004.
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12:35 p.m.
A man in his 30s who says he doesn’t watch much news has now become the eighth juror chosen in Pittsburgh for Bill Cosby’s sex assault trial.
Lawyers have now selected five men and three women for the trial starting June 5 near Philadelphia.
All of them are white. Cosby has said racism may play a role in the dozens of similar accusations made against him by other women.
The jurors are being chosen from hundreds of miles away because of pretrial publicity about the case in Montgomery County.
The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee at his home in 2004. He has pleaded not guilty.
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12:10 p.m.
Two more people have been chosen in Pittsburgh to serve on the jury that will hear Bill Cosby’s sex assault case.
All seven of the jurors chosen so far are white in a case that Cosby believes may have racial overtones.
Cosby became the first black actor to star in a network TV show in 1965 but has alienated some younger blacks by criticizing their clothes, music and lifestyle.
The two jurors chosen Tuesday morning are a man in his 20s and a woman who looks to be in her 50s.
The process will continue until lawyers find a dozen jurors and six alternates for the June 5 trial near Philadelphia.
Legal experts say the defense may be looking for older jurors who enjoyed his comedy routines and top-ranked sitcom, “The Cosby Show.”
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9 a.m.
Bill Cosby has arrived for the second day of jury selection in his Pennsylvania sex assault case.
Cosby arrived at the Allegheny County Courthouse just before 9 a.m. Tuesday.
The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004. Cosby has called the encounter consensual.
Cosby goes on trial June 5 in suburban Philadelphia. The jury from Pittsburgh will be sequestered nearly 300 miles from home.
The jurors chosen so far include three white men and two white women. Their names, ages and occupations are being kept private.
Two of the five jurors picked so far say they know a victim of sexual assault but can be impartial in the case.
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Midnight
Two of the five jurors picked so far for Bill Cosby’s criminal trial say they know a victim of sexual assault.
Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson says that reflects the scope of the problem and could be an issue for the defense.
The 79-year-old Cosby is accused of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004. Cosby has called the encounter consensual.
Cosby goes on trial June 5 in suburban Philadelphia. The jury from Pittsburgh will be sequestered nearly 300 miles from home.
The jurors chosen so far include three white men and two white women. Their names, ages and occupations are being kept private.
Jury selection resumes Tuesday.
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