Jury selection for Bill Cosby's upcoming sexual assault trial came to completion on Wednesday, May 24, with the court selecting its 12th member to be an African-American citizen, after lawyers for the legendary comedian raised questions about the chosen panel up until that point.
In the days leading up to the final jurist being chosen, headlines began to direct the public's attention on the fact that 10 of the 11 people brought on to rule over the June 5 trial were white. Concerns were raised about the jury late on Tuesday when Cosby's attorneys objected to the prosecution blocking an African-American woman who they believe proved her intentions to serve fairly. “We believe this is a systematic exclusion of African-Americans who answered that they could be objective,” attorney Brian J. McMonagle said about the decision, which came one day after the court dismissed an African-American sales coordinator he saw no issue with.
Thus far the court is reported to have made concessions on the defense's behalf, noting that they agreed to their recommendation to draw the pool from the Pittsburgh area out of concerns that the potential group which would have been selected from Montgomery County would likely have been biased against Cosby. Judge Steven T. O'Neill defends his decision to have rejected the African-American woman who came up for consideration, citing that while she was a Pittsburgh police detective, she had at one time been accused of falsifying time sheets; a charge that was ultimately dropped.
Following Wednesday's selection, the jury was solidified to comprise of a total of seven men and five women, with two of the women estimated to fall within the 50-60 age range, one man aged between 70-80 and the remaining jurors being older than 20 and younger than 40 years of age.
Source: tmz.com
