Bill Cosby arrived at the courthouse today as the jury selection begins in his sexual assault trial. He arrived at the court this morning holding onto the arm of one of his assistants and choose not to answer questions from the journalists waiting outside. The case has attracted widespread media attention but the judge hopes to select a panel of jurors outside the influence of the media frenzy. Lawyers will also be looking at a potential juror’s occupation, race, gender and interests to make sure that Cosby gets a fair hearing.
A consultant for the trial said ‘You want to see if they’re a celebrity-conscious person – if they read celebrity stuff, if they worship celebrity.’ He added ‘In a normal case, juries are all banging the door to get out, bringing up every hardship in the world. But on this case, you’re going to see people that may lie to get on, and people who convince themselves that they can be fair, but they can’t.’
Allegations were first made against the television star back in 2005 when a young woman told the police Cosby had sexually assaulted her the previous year. The district attorney initially declined to press charges. However, the case was reopened in 2015 and Cosby was arrested later that year. Cosby strongly denies the allegations and has maintained his innocence since first being accused of the crimes. He told a TV show this week that once the charges are cleared he hopes to get back to work and resume his career.