His lawyers have also said that critics of the former Cosby Show star are guilty of “racial bias and prejudice”. One woman said she declined his offer of quaaludes but accepted Champagne that she believed was spiked. Near the end of the conversation, Gianna Constand referred to pills Cosby allegedly gave her daughter.
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Cosby spokesman Andrew Wyatt brought race into the equation, saying Allred and others have trampled on Cosby’s civil rights.
“Mr.Cosby is no stranger to discrimination and racial hatred, and throughout his career Mr.Cosby has always used his voice and his celebrity to highlight the commonalities and has portrayed the differences that are not negative – no matter the race, gender and religion of a person”, he said in a statement.
Though he’s facing similar allegations from about 60 women back in decades, it appears that is only the Constand case that has resulted in criminal charges. The defense argued that Cosby did not know he was being recorded, and that the tape should not be permitted at trial under Pennsylvania’s two-party wiretap law.
Prosecutors say they hope to have 13 Cosby accusers testify at the trial. Cosby talked about having extramarital affairs that he claimed were consensual, despite admitting to drugging the women.
Cosby had mentored Ms Constand at Temple University at the time.
The judge says he’ll rule on the phone call within a week.
Kevin Steele, the current district attorney, has not responded to the defense motion.
This is after a judge rejected his latest bid to have criminal sexual assault charges dismissed.
Judge Steven O’Neill revealed Cosby’s lawyers had confirmed rumours that the actor had lost his sight in a letter sent before today’s hearing. O’Neill offered whatever accommodations he might need at trial, but the defense didn’t immediately ask for any.
The motion to show “prior bad acts of defendant” does not name the women but provides their ages, when they met Cosby and how their relationship with Cosby developed.
Cosby was greeted by supporters who shouted “we love you” as he walked into court.
Cosby has been fighting the charges since his December 30 arrest. She later said she was in and out of consciousness.
The defense is expected to vehemently oppose such testimony. Legal experts say a judge might allow similar Cosby allegations in which drugs or alcohol were involved.
He held onto an aide’s arm Tuesday as he arrived to court dressed in a light blue striped seersucker jacket.
His lawyers are trying to keep some key evidence out of the case.
Cosby’s lawyers cited wiretapping and electronic surveillance laws in their motion to suppress a recording of a January 17, 2005, phone call between Cosby and Gianna Constand, the mother of Andrea Constand. Though the cases vary somewhat, there is one consistent sentence repeated for each of the 14 accusers, including Constand: “She did not consent to this sexual contact with the defendant”. Jerry Brown to sign a bill that would eliminate the statute of limitations for rape and sexual assault in the state.
Bill Cosby’s sex assault trial has been set for June 5, 2017.
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Cosby has streamlined his legal team as the case heads to trial. He had returned to court on Tuesday in Pennsylvania as part of multiple attempts to avoid standing trial for the alleged 2004 assault. And I don’t feel her say anything.
