Thursday, March 28, 2024

Bill Cosby Jury Selection Nets 4 African Americans; Trial Set for June 5

bill cosby - jury selection

*(Via BlackPressUSA) – After a 3-day jury selection process in the Bill Cosby sexual assault criminal trial, all 12 jurors have been chosen. The final day was filled with high-drama and even several outbursts of laughter by the embattled comedian and others.

Also, six alternate jurors were chosen for the trial that’s scheduled to begin on June 5 in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, about 300 miles from where the selection process took place (Pittsburgh).

Two members of the primary panel are African-American, a man and a woman both in their 30s or 40s. A male black in his 20s and a female African-American in her 20s were also selected as alternates.

While the primary panel consists of 10 Whites—seven men and three women—the alternate jury pool includes four Whites.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, civil rights activist, Rev. Jesse Jackson said juror suppression has been a tool of the United States justice system for centuries.

“The jury may determine the outcome even before coming to court,” Jackson said. “Our history includes the killers of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers; a jury set those killers free. There’s a court bias and African-Americans don’t have access to the jury pool [like Whites].”

After Cosby’s legal team objected on Tuesday to prosecutors striking an African-American woman, an otherwise quiet proceeding grew contentious.

“We believe this is systematic exclusion of African-Americans,” defense lawyer Brian McMonagle complained in lodging the challenge to the striking of the juror and citing a legal term known as a “Batson challenge.”

According to the Legal Information Institute (LII) at the Cornell Law School, a Baston challenge is, “An objection to the validity of a peremptory challenge, on grounds that the other party used it to exclude a potential juror based on race, ethnicity, or sex. The result of a Batson challenge may be a new trial.”

Cosby has been charged with three counts of sexual assault, which stem from an alleged incident more than a decade ago at his home near Philadelphia.

The 79-year-old comedian/actor/activist faces 10 years in prison if he’s convicted.

Get the rest of the story at BlackPressUSA.com

 

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING