Bill Cosby Wants Presiding Judge Whose Wife Supports Sexual Assault Victims Replaced Ahead Of Retrial
Lawyers for Bill Cosby have reportedly asked that Judge Steven O'Neill be replaced as presiding judge during the comedian's retrial, because his wife is a big supporter of sexual assault victims.
Partiality
Cosby's lawyers reasoned that Judge O'Neill might be partial to the case because there could be a conflict of interest where his wife is involved. According to reports, his wife, Deborah O'Neill , is an advocate for sexual assault victims. She has academically studied and written dissertations on sexual violence with a focus on acquaintance rape.
Deborah also works as a psychotherapist on the University of Pennsylvania's Counseling & Psychological Services. She is the coordinator of the Sexual Assault Trauma Treatment Outreach and Prevention Program (STTOP), which is a team of clinicians dedicated to providing treatment to victims of sexual assault.
This is why the disgraced TV personality's lawyers requested that O'Neill be replaced by another randomly selected judge. In a court motion filed on Thursday, Cosby's judges reasoned that there could be "clear appearance of partiality" on the judge's side.
Recusal
The defense worried that O'Neill might make bias decisions during Cosby's retrial. The lawyers cited the judge's sudden decision to allow five more witnesses to testify against Cosby in the April retrial. They alleged that his wife is behind the order and that she influenced O'Neill's decision. Initially, only one was allowed to take the stand against the comedian.
Likewise, rumors claimed that Deborah paid a campus group called V-Day UPenn, which has connections with an organization that intends to stage demonstrations outside the courtroom during the assault retrial. The group plans to stage a rally outside the Montgomery Courthouse as a support for alleged sexual assault victim Andrea Constand and the other women who will testify against Cosby's retrial on April 2.
"Thus, Dr. O'Neill — the spouse of the trial judge presiding over this case — has apparently donated marital assets to the very organization that will be protesting against Mr. Cosby at his upcoming retrial, whose stated purpose is to show support for Andrea Constand and the other 404 accusers," reads the court memo about the replacement.
Cosby's lawyers are asking that O'Neill recluse himself from the case. However, the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office objected to the defendant's request for recusal and referred to their assertions of partiality as "unfounded and malicious allegations."
Cosby is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Constand in 2004, which he has pleaded not guilty.
