PITTSBURGH (AP) — The hunt is on for a 12th juror for Bill Cosby’s sex assault trial as a new pool of local residents is questioned Wednesday in a Pittsburgh courtroom.
Cosby’s lawyers accused prosecutors this week of trying to keep blacks off the jury after they struck two black women from the panel. However, the judge found their reasons weren’t racially motivated.
The 11 jurors chosen so far include one black. That ratio is close to a 2015 census report that found 13 percent of Allegheny County residents identify as black.
The black actor-comedian once known as America’s Dad for his beloved portrayal of Dr. Cliff Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” is charged with drugging and molesting a Temple University women’s basketball team manager at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. He has called the encounter consensual.
Dozens of other women have made similar accusations against Cosby, 79, but the judge is allowing only one of them to testify. The jury from Pittsburgh will be sequestered nearly 300 miles from home.
