Comedian Bill Cosby convicted of sexual assault in retrial

Thomson Reuters          DAVID DEKOK          Apr 26th 2018 
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - Comedian Bill Cosby was convicted on Thursday of drugging and molesting a onetime friend in 2004, marking the first such conviction of a celebrity since the #MeToo movement that has brought down rich and powerful men for their treatment of women.

Cosby, 80, best known as the lovable father from the 1980s TV hit "The Cosby Show," faces up to 10 years in prison for each of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, 45, following a three-week trial at the Montgomery County courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Cosby looked down with a sad expression when the Pennsylvania jury's verdict was read. Lily Bernard, one of his many accusers, began sobbing. Constand sat stone-faced.

Judge Steven O'Neill ruled that Cosby could remain out of jail on $1 million bail pending sentencing at a later date, and he left the courthouse.

District Attorney Kevin Steele had asked the judge to have Cosby taken into custody immediately, saying he was a flight risk in part because he owned a plane.

"He doesn't have a plane, you asshole!" Cosby responded, breaking the decorum he had shown throughout the trial

Outside the courtroom, two other Cosby accusers were seen hugging, crying and clapping.

"It's a victory not just for the 62 of us who have come forward but for all survivors of sexual assault, female and male," Bernard told reporters, using a high estimate of the number of Cosby's accusers. "I feel like my faith in humanity is restored."

The unanimous decision by the seven-man, five-woman jury came less than a year after a different jury deadlocked last June in his first trial on the same charges, prompting the Judge Steven O'Neill to declare a mistrial. Prosecutors decided to retry him.

Soon after the first trial, a series of women leveled sexual assault and harassment accusations against men in media, entertainment and politics, giving rise to the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements that encouraged women go public with personal stories of abuse, in some cases after years of silence.

The conviction marks the downfall of a man once celebrated as "America's Dad" but whose reputation was ruined after some 50 women accused him of similar offenses going back decades.

Only one of those cases was recent enough to be eligible for prosecution, that of Constand, a former administrator for the women's basketball team at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater. Like many of Cosby's other accusers, she said she was drugged and violated while unable to defend herself.

Bill Cosby hurls profanity at prosecutor after guilty verdict

Cosby has said any sexual encounters were consensual, and his lawyers portrayed Constand as a "pathological liar" who falsely depicted their romantic relationship as an attack. Five other women also testified to similar treatment from Cosby, whose lawyers argued that the women were fabricating stories in search of wealth and fame.

Prosecutors countered that the real scam artist was Cosby, who hid behind his kindly TV persona to win the trust of women he then drugged and sexually assaulted.

The jury sided with Constand, who testified that she went to Cosby's house to discuss a potential career change when he gave her three blue pills he said would relax her.

She said the pills made her feel woozy, and that Cosby walked her to a sofa and laid her down.

"The next thing I recall, I was kind of jolted awake," Constand said from the witness stand. "My vagina was being penetrated quite forcefully. I felt my breasts being touched. He put my hand on his penis and masturbated himself with my hand. I was not able to do a thing."

The prosecution case was bolstered by the five additional accusers who were allowed to testify. In the first trial, O'Neill allowed only one accuser besides Constand to take the witness stand.

The judge also allowed the second jury to hear another piece of evidence stricken from the first trial, that Cosby agreed to pay Constand $3.38 million to settle a civil lawsuit after prosecutors in 2005 initially declined to bring criminal charges. The settlement barred Constand from discussing publicly either the lawsuit or the underlying allegations.

The defense team portrayed the settlement as evidence of a scheme by Constand to falsely accuse a celebrity of sexual assault to reap millions of dollars.

The prosecution pointed to that same $3.38 million as evidence of Cosby's need to silence Constand about the attack.

In a victory for the defense, the judge allowed the testimony of Margo Jackson, who said Constand once told her "it would be easy" to fabricate an accusation of sexual assault against a celebrity to make money.
(Reporting by David DeKok; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Tom Brown)

Lets hear from Witchy :
Its too bad ,  he was so looked up to.  What  I don't get is, he, and many other 'high profile' people, could get all the women they wanted.  why would they compromise their positions?
That applies to the women who were willing participants.  Cosby's need to drug and violate women for his sexual pleasure was deviant behavior.
What is really strange....with all his money, clout, connections he could have BOUGHT beautiful women to satisfy his needs. Pay them and forget them and they  him. He went out and risked everything and now he pays the piper.

Don't you think he should've been taken directly from the courthouse right to prison....he should be in prison & NOT out on a possible bail.....$1M is nothing for him to pay....it's a drop in the bucket with all the $$ he has.....glad they found him guilty but let's hope it stays that way....ridiculous this had to be a retrial when Cosby himself admitted long ago he DID give them drugs & had sex with these women while they were unconscious...what more evidence do you need after his admission......
Nuff said  ...HeHe

Trump gives peace a chance in deciding to meet with North Korea's leader

BY JESSE JACKSON             April 25, 2018
President Donald Trump’s decision to meet with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un opens new possibilities.

Trump’s critics suggest Trump has given Kim a major concession – the recognition that would come from a first meeting with a U.S. president – in exchange for nothing.  But talking is far preferable to issuing threats and insults; exchanging proposals for peace far better than exchanging bombs in war.

This diplomatic initiative began when South Korea invited the North to take part in the winter Olympics. This week, Kim and the South Korean president will meet in an inter-Korean summit.  They already announced the installation of the first-ever hotline between the two leaders. There are even beginning discussions, pushed by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, toward a treaty to finally bring the Korean War (which ended in an armistice agreement in 1953) to a formal close.

Kim has also made unilateral gestures – what diplomats call “trust-building measures”— toward the U.S. He’s announced that North Korea would no longer insist on the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Korean Peninsula as part of any settlement. (The U.S. considers the troop presence not negotiable). He’s announced the end to all nuclear and missile testing, and pledged to close the country’s nuclear test site “to guarantee transparency in suspending nuclear tests.”

He pledged that North Korea would never “use nuclear weapons nor transfer nuclear weapons or nuclear technology under any circumstances unless there are nuclear threat and nuclear provocation against the DPRK.”

In a tweet, Trump hailed this as “very good news for North Korea and the World – big progress!”

Some suggest that this opening is simply a ruse. The harsh economic sanctions enforced on North Korea by the United Nations are starting to hurt. China has cooperated, reducing its trade with North Korea dramatically (about 90 percent of North Korean trade goes through China). Kim, they argue, is maneuvering in order to reduce the pressure, hoping to get food and other aid.

Economic sanctions may be a factor pushing Kim to negotiate. But we should understand that harsh economic sanctions have limits. Neither China nor the international community will enforce starvation on the North Korean people simply because of the folly of their dictator. Trump is right to seize on the possibility of negotiation.

If the Trump-Kim summit does take place, the discussions will be immensely difficult. Kim considers himself the head of a nuclear power, with a tested arsenal, sitting down to negotiate as a peer with the United States. North Korea could end testing because, he stated, they have successfully achieved their goals.

Trump, on the other hand, acts as if Kim has already agreed to surrender and unilaterally give up his nuclear arsenal in exchange for lifting sanctions and better relations with the U.S.

The problem here is trust. American hawks see the Korean nuclear arsenal as an existential threat that must be eliminated. Deterrence is not sufficient. Korean officials will have good reason to doubt U.S. promises. Iran has adhered to the nuclear weapons deal it made with the U.S. and its allies, but now Trump says he plans to tear it up.

The danger of a failed summit is that Trump’s “war cabinet” – the hawks like national security adviser John Bolton – would use a failure to goad Trump into confrontation, even war against North Korea. Lowering expectations publicly, while remaining open to new possibilities privately, is the best course, but one Trump seems simply unable to follow.

Surely it is time to give peace a chance. The summit this week between Kim and South Korean President Moon will set the stage. A later meeting between Trump and Kim could help lower tensions, even if it doesn’t produce a dramatic resolution.

War on the Korean peninsula would be catastrophic. Finding a way out peacefully is surely worth both time and effort. 

U.S. strike against Syria is one more step toward a lawless presidency

BY JESSE JACKSON         April 17, 2018
“Mission accomplished,” announced President Donald Trump after the United States, France and England unleashed more than 100 missiles on Syria in reaction to the regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons against its own people.

What the mission accomplished, however, should alarm us all. It will do nothing to end the suffering of the Syrian people, as the fighting continues in a brutal civil war now in its seventh year. It will do nothing to weaken the grip of Bashar al-Assad who, backed by Russia and Iran, has consolidated his hold on much of Syria.

The major casualties of the raid are international law and the Constitution of the United States, for this act openly violated both.

The UN Charter — the charter that the United States played a major role in drafting after World War II — prohibits the unprovoked attack of one country on another, except in self-defense, or with the sanction of the United Nations itself. Punitive attacks are outlawed for the very reason that they are an excuse that the strong use to wage war on the weak. Syria poses no threat to the U.S. or its allies.

The U.S. and its allies attacked even as an independent group — the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons — was on its way to Syria to investigate the site and possibly provide independent assessment as to whether a chemical attack occurred and, if so, by whom. The attack took place without even that assessment.

Over the last 25 years, after the U.S. became the sole global power with the collapse of the Soviet Union, there have been efforts to develop the right to protect, essentially giving authority for attacking a regime to stop genocidal attacks on its people. But the right to protect can be enforced only with UN sanction. Otherwise it simply becomes an excuse for the strong to use when deciding to attack the weak.

The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the right to declare war. Congress has provided no authority to wage war on Syria.

The result is that the president now openly asserts the right to attack any country on his own hook, without the authority of the United Nations or the sanction of Congress. A president above the law is a violation of the founding principles of this Republic.

Some justify the act because the missile strikes are aimed to enforce the treaty that bans the use of chemical weapons, which Syria has signed. The use of chemical weapons is an outrage that should trigger international action. Russia and China have stopped the UN from acting. So, it is argued, the U.S. and its allies must act to punish the alleged violation of the global ban. This attack, it is argued, “draws a line.”

The problem with acting alone, however, is clear. The powerful will act only to punish opponents who are weak. The U.S. will not attack allies like Saudi Arabia for waging what increasingly appears to be a genocidal war in Yemen. It will not attack adversaries like China or Russia who are nuclear powers.

It attacks Syria only because Syria is an adversary and is weak and cannot defend itself.

This is hardly the way to enforce justice or legal order.

If the world will not join in enforcing the ban on chemical weapons, the ban will be undermined. We would be better off rousing global outrage at the Syrians for using chemical weapons and at the Russians and Chinese for blocking international action, than taking the law into our own hands.

Violation of international law and the Constitution can be dismissed as legalistic concerns. Syria has committed an outrage. The United States and its allies have punished them. But legal authority is what separates legitimate use of force from criminality. Respect for the law is what separates the civilized from the jungle.

This strike will make the president look “tough.” It will likely boost his approval ratings. But it is one more step toward a lawless and unaccountable executive that threatens the very basis of our democracy.

At Bill Cosby trial, drug experts offer conflicting opinions

Updated: APRIL 19, 2018
Bill Cosby gestures as he arrives for his sexual assault trial, Thursday, April 19, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
by Laura McCrystal & Jeremy Roebuck - Staff Writers
The prosecution’s expert said Andrea Constand could have felt weak and woozy, with blurred vision and a dry mouth, as quickly as 10 to 15 minutes after taking pills that Bill Cosby gave her.
FULL TRIAL COVERAGE >

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'Ms. Constand, why are you here?' 'For justice,' she replied
But a different expert called by Cosby’s defense team said she couldn’t have felt those symptoms so quickly or severely from the Benadryl that Cosby said he gave her.

The conflicting testimony Thursday came from two toxicologists, one called by each side in Cosby’s sex assault retrial. It will be left to the jurors — who could get the case early next week — to determine which expert to believe, if either.

The full day of expert testimony came after jurors heard from six women, including Constand, who said Cosby drugged them before sexually assaulting them. The jury has also heard Cosby’s own statements admitting that decades ago he obtained Quaaludes to give to women before sex.

But what drug he gave Constand on the night of the alleged assault in 2004 and how it impacted her is a central question at his trial.

Timothy Rohrig, a forensic toxicologist who testified for the prosecution, was the final witness called by prosecutors in their bid to prove that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Constand in 2004.

“All the symptoms she described, the timing of the onset of the symptoms she described, is consistent with the ingestion” of Benadryl, said Rohrig, who also testified at Cosby’s first trial last June.

Alcohol, Rohrig said, would intensify the effects of Benadryl.

Harry Milman, the toxicologist called by Cosby’s lawyers, testified that Benadryl is one of the safest over-the-counter allergy medications and would not have produced those severe effects.

“If it caused unconsciousness or an inability to move your arms or legs, then it wouldn’t be an over-the-counter drug,” Milman said. “And the symptoms that she described are very severe symptoms, and they all appeared at once.”

Milman said that because Constand said she took only some sips of wine on the night of the alleged assault, it could not have caused her symptoms.

Cosby sat quietly, appearing to focus on the technical testimony as lawyers on each side tried to discredit the other’s expert.

Assistant District Attorney M. Stewart Ryan suggested that Milman had no experience in drug-facilitated sexual assault cases, and was not board-certified.

“And you don’t hold any sort of license?” Ryan asked him.

“I hold a driver’s license,” Milman responded, drawing laughter from the courtroom.

Cosby lawyer Kathleen Bliss, meanwhile, suggested that Rohrig’s testimony about Benadryl and Constand’s symptoms might be incorrect because the drug cannot cause paralysis or inability to speak.

Cosby told police and testified in a deposition for the civil lawsuit Constand filed against him that he gave her 1½ Benadryl pills that night.

Prosecutors insist that Cosby may have given her something other than Benadryl, because he previously refused to disclose the medication to Constand and her mother. Jurors also heard Cosby’s deposition testimony that he had obtained Quaaludes to give to women he wanted to seduce, as well as testimony from five other women who said Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them in the 1980s.

The experts also testified about Quaaludes, and their testimony on the effects of that drug differed as well. Rohrig said they made people act intoxicated while Milman said they could not make someone black out immediately, as some of Cosby’s accusers described from the witness stand last week. All five of the other women who testified said they took pills or drinks given to them by Cosby. Only one, Janice Baker-Kinney, said she took Quaaludes.

Also Thursday, Cosby’s lawyers sought Judge Steven T. O’Neill’s permission to read decade-old testimony into the record from Sheri Williams, one of Constand’s closest friends from her time in Philadelphia, whom they had hoped to call as a witness in their case.

Williams’ name came up frequently during Cosby’s first trial as prosecutors combed through months of Constand’s phone records from the time of her alleged assault, showing frequent contact between the women.

Cosby’s legal team has barely mentioned Williams in the retrial. However, in a court filing late Thursday, they said they had been unable to serve her with a subpoena and asked the judge to permit them to read portions of her deposition from Constand’s 2005 civil suit against Cosby into the record instead. O’Neill said he would hear arguments about the issue Friday morning.

Defense lawyers are expected to call three witnesses to testify Friday, and at least one more on Monday. O’Neill told jurors that they could begin deliberating early next week.

Keep up with every development in Bill Cosby’s case with our day-by-day recaps, timeline, and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players.

What do kids think of Donald Trump ??

 



TRUE STORY

Why on earth would the Republicans vote NAY??
 

Bill Cosby's retrial, 3 women say Bill Cosby drugged, assaulted them

 NBC News      MEREDITH MANDELL AND ADAM REISS AND KARIN ROBERTS

NORRISTOWN, Pa. — Three women took the stand Wednesday at Bill Cosby's retrial on charges of sexual assault. They portrayed him, in strikingly similar details, as a sexual predator who used pills and alcohol as a pathway to incapacitate and molest them.

The mood in the courtroom was tense and filled with tearful sobs as the three women testified, with occasional impassioned outbursts, over nearly eight hours.

"Dr. Huxtable, what are you doing to me?" was the thought that one woman, Chelan Lasha, said went through her head as Cosby groped her breasts and rubbed against her leg. He had invited her to his suite at the Las Vegas Hilton, then given her amaretto and a blue pill, she said, telling her it was an antihistamine. He took her into the bedroom and assaulted her while she was unable to move, she said. She was 17.

Cosby is not criminally charged in the alleged incidents involving Lasha or two other women who testified Wednesday.

Cosby, 80, is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault involving Andrea Constand, who alleges that he drugged and molested her in his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Cosby has repeatedly denied all the allegations against him. In the criminal case, Cosby has said the sexual encounter was consensual.

 The three women who testified Wednesday in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas were referring to incidents that occurred more than 30 years ago. They are among the five prosecution witnesses who are expected to testify in the criminal case, including the prosecution's main witness, Constand.

A second woman, Janice Baker-Kinney, testified that she went to Cosby's home in Reno, Nevada, with a friend expecting a pizza party. When they arrived, Cosby was there alone, she said. He offered her two Quaaludes and a beer, she said. She said in court that she woke up the next morning naked and felt fluid between her legs.

The defense aggressively questioned Baker-Kinney about her delay in coming forward.

"You never thought of it as rape? For 30 years?" defense attorney Thomas Mesereau asked Baker-Kinney.

"I blamed myself," she replied. "I thought it was my fault for 30 years."

The defense twice asked Judge Steven O'Neill to declare a mistrial after the witnesses uttered accusations against Cosby instead of answering the questions they had been asked. The judge denied the motions.

Cosby paid Constand nearly $3.4 million in a 2006 civil settlement, it was revealed in the prosecution's opening statements this week.

Lasha acknowledged, under questioning, that she had a criminal record for making false statements. And defense attorneys tried to paint the women as eager for money and fame.

The third woman who testified, Heidi Thomas, alleged that Cosby lured her to a Reno home with promises to help her musical career, then drugged and sexually assaulted her.

In her cross-examination, defense attorney Kathleen Bliss questioned Thomas about her links to a website that offers speaking engagements and her numerous TV appearances related to her claims of sexual assault.

"You've been getting a lot of attention, haven't you?" Bliss asked.

The three women cannot take their cases to court because the statute of limitations has passed. Last month O'Neill, the judge,ruled that they could testify, as an exception to Pennsylvania's rules of evidence, to allow prosecutors to establish that their accounts proved a "common plan, scheme or design" in the assault that Cosby is charged with.

Cosby's first trial last year ended in a mistrial after a jury deliberated for 52 hours and failed to reach a verdict.

Outside the courthouse, a spokeswoman for Cosby, Ebony Benson, described the case against him as "prosecution by distraction."


"When you don't have a case you will fill the time with something else," she said. "The media must not misdirect or divert attention away from the case they are here to try.

Former Cosby Show actress launches topless protest at Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial

Former Cosby Show actress launches topless protest at Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial as she charges at disgraced actor with the word 'rapist' and names of his alleged victims written on her body
A protester who was not wearing a shirt and had the names of Bill Cosby's alleged victims written on her body launched herself at the actor on Monday
She also had the phrase 'Women's Lives Matter,' 'Cosby Rapist' and 'semen' written across her body
Cosby, 80, laughed at the woman as she jumped over the barricade and ran into his path on Monday 
The woman, who has been identified as Nicolle Rochelle of Little Neck, New Jersey, was detained by sheriff's deputies and is now in custody 
Rochelle, 38, appeared in four episodes of The Cosby Show as a child, playing a friend of Rudy Huxtable
By CHRIS SPARGO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM    UPDATED: 18:34 EDT, 9 April 2018
Bill Cosby was accosted by a topless woman while arriving in court on Monday morning.

The woman, who has been identified as Nicolle Rochelle of Little Neck, New Jersey, jumped over a barricade and ran at the disgraced actor while he was making his way from his car into the courthouse.

Rochelle, 38, appeared on The Cosby Show as a child, appearing in four episodes of the popular sitcom as Danielle, a friend of Rudy Huxtable (played by Keshia Knight Pulliam).

Pulliam had been by Cosby's side for the first day of his trial the last time he appeared in court, but was not present for the opening statements of his retrial on Monday. 

Rochelle had the words 'Women's Lives Matter' written across her body and was quickly stopped by sheriff's deputies, who put her in handcuffs and took her into custody.

Topless protester runs past Bill Cosby as he returns to court

Say my name: A protester who was not wearing a shirt (above) and had the names of Bill Cosby's alleged victims written on her body launched herself at the actor on Monday

Fun and games: Cosby, 80, laughed (above) at the woman as she jumped over the barricade and ran into his path on Monday

Making a statement: The woman also had the phrase 'Women's Lives Matter,' 'Cosby Rapist' and 'semen' written across her body

In he goes: The trial started off on Monday with Cosby's defense hoping to get one juror dismissed after they allegedly told a potential member of the jury they had already formed an opinion on the case
Cosby's team asks for more security after topless protester

The woman also had the words 'Cosby rapist' and 'semen' written on her body, as well as the names of a number of Cosby's alleged victims. 

Cosby could be seen laughing as the woman ran out in his path.

He walked into court with his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, who was also by his side during last year's trial. 

Wyatt could be seen reprimanding one of the sheriff's deputies after the woman made her way over the partition.

In that same image the woman is seen pinned down on the ground while Cosby walks by unfazed by the commotion. 

Cosby is switching things up for this trial, with the disgraced actor assembling a new defense team of seven lawyers - four of whom are women.

Two of those women, Becky James and Kathleen Bliss, were added to the team as soon as pre-trial motions and meetings began last year, while the other two were very late additions.

Court records show that Cosby's team submitted two motions for admission on Saturday, March 24 at around 9pm to request that Jaya Gupta and Rachael Robinson be added to his legal line-up.

That move came in the wake of Judge Steven O'Neill ruling that five women who have accused Cosby of rape could testify at trial in addition to the plaintiff, Andrea Constand.

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he drugged and molested Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

Former Cosby Show actress protests topless at retrial

Big break: Rochelle, 38, appeared in four episodes of The Cosby Show as a child, playing a friend of Rudy Huxtable (Rochelle on far left)

The legal team will be headed up this time by Tom Mesereau, who has defended A-list celebrities including Michael Jackson.

He replaces Brian McMonagle, who stepped down after the first trial ended in a hung jury and was declared a mistrial, a ruling that most legal experts agreed was the best possible outcome Cosby could hope for in the case.

There are no lawyers on Cosby's current team who were part of his defense during the first trial.

Bliss is a former federal prosecutor who served in Nevada for over two decades while James is a partner at the Los Angeles-based firm of Greenberg Gross.

That is the same firm where Gupta and Robinson are employed as associates.

'Prior to law school, Ms. Gupta received a master’s degree in Medieval English Studies at the University of Oxford,' reads Gupta's bio on the law firm's website.

'She received her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.'

That bio also makes it clear why she was selected for the team, stating: 'Her experience includes representing individuals and entities in class actions, and in civil and criminal government investigations brought pursuant to the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.'

Robinson also fills a niche in the defense team, having 'begun her legal career as an associate working with Partner Becky S. James at James & Associates, focusing primarily on appeals and white collar criminal defense' according to her bio. 

These new lawyers will be up against the returning prosecutor in the case, Kevin Steele.

He has also made some changes however, thanks to Judge Steven O'Neill ruling that the prosecution could call five accusers to the stand at trial.

That is a big increase from the first trial, where there were just two women who took the stand - plaintiff Andrea Constand and Kelly Johnson.

Constand will be taking the stand once again, and this time be joined by Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Chelan lasha, Lisa-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas.

Prosecutors had been hoping to have 13 women testify alongside Constand to speak to a pattern of behavior exhibited by the defendant.

Cosby, 80, has been accused of drugging and raping over 40 women.

Jury selection will begin on Monday in the case and be followed by opening statements a few days later.

This trial will likely take much longer than the first, which was over in two weeks.


Cosby is switching things up for this trial, with the disgraced actor assembling a new defense team of seven lawyers - four of whom are women.

Two of those women, Becky James and Kathleen Bliss, were added to the team as soon as pre-trial motions and meetings began last year, while the other two were very late additions.

Court records show that Cosby's team submitted two motions for admission on Saturday, March 24 at around 9pm to request that Jaya Gupta and Rachael Robinson be added to his legal line-up.

That move came in the wake of Judge Steven O'Neill ruling that five women who have accused Cosby of rape could testify at trial in addition to the plaintiff, Andrea Constand.

Cosby has pleaded not guilty to charges he drugged and molested Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The legal team will be headed up this time by Tom Mesereau, who has defended A-list celebrities including Michael Jackson.

He replaces Brian McMonagle, who stepped down after the first trial ended in a hung jury and was declared a mistrial, a ruling that most legal experts agreed was the best possible outcome Cosby could hope for in the case.

There are no lawyers on Cosby's current team who were part of his defense during the first trial.

Bliss is a former federal prosecutor who served in Nevada for over two decades while James is a partner at the Los Angeles-based firm of Greenberg Gross.

That is the same firm where Gupta and Robinson are employed as associates.

'Prior to law school, Ms. Gupta received a master’s degree in Medieval English Studies at the University of Oxford,' reads Gupta's bio on the law firm's website.

'She received her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.'

That bio also makes it clear why she was selected for the team, stating: 'Her experience includes representing individuals and entities in class actions, and in civil and criminal government investigations brought pursuant to the False Claims Act, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.'

Robinson also fills a niche in the defense team, having 'begun her legal career as an associate working with Partner Becky S. James at James & Associates, focusing primarily on appeals and white collar criminal defense' according to her bio. 


These new lawyers will be up against the returning prosecutor in the case, Kevin Steele.He has also made some changes however, thanks to Judge Steven O'Neill ruling that the prosecution could call five accusers to the stand at trial.

That is a big increase from the first trial, where there were just two women who took the stand - plaintiff Andrea Constand and Kelly Johnson.

Constand will be taking the stand once again, and this time be joined by Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Chelan lasha, Lisa-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas.

Prosecutors had been hoping to have 13 women testify alongside Constand to speak to a pattern of behavior exhibited by the defendant.

Cosby, 80, has been accused of drugging and raping over 40 women.

Jury selection will begin on Monday in the case and be followed by opening statements a few days later.

This trial will likely take much longer than the first, which was over in two weeks.

The defense had initially attempted to argue that the start of the case should be pushed back because of the addition of those five prosecution witnesses earlier this month.

Judge O'Neill denied that request

FIVE BILL COSBY RAPE ACCUSERS WHO WILL TESTIFY AT RETRIAL

                                         Andrea Constandt 
That is a big increase from the first trial, where there were just two women who took the stand - plaintiff Andrea Constand and Kelly Johnson.

Constand will be taking the stand once again, and this time be joined by Janice Baker-Kinney, Janice Dickinson, Chelan lasha, Lisa-Lotte Lublin and Heidi Thomas.

Prosecutors had been hoping to have 13 women testify alongside Constand to speak to a pattern of behavior exhibited by the defendant.

Cosby, 80, has been accused of drugging and raping over 40 women.

Janice Baker-Kinney claims that in 1982 (left)  she woke up naked in bed with the comedian - and he told her to keep their encounter to themselves

JANICE BAKER-KINNEY
Kinney said she was 24 in May 1982 when she and a friend met Cosby at the casino where she worked in Reno, Nevada.

She said the three of them went back to Cosby's apartment, where he gave her some pills.

Baker-Kinney willingly took two pills and said she began to get blurry vision while playing backgammon with Cosby. 

Hours later, she claims, she woke up naked in bed with the comedian - and he told her to keep their encounter to themselves.

'I was mortified at what had happened,' said Kinney back in 2015 when she went public with her allegations at a press conference. 

'All this time, and for many, many years, I felt that this was my fault.' 

The defense tried to deny Baker-Kinney's admission as a witness by arguing that her story is 'nothing like Ms. Constand's' because she only met Cosby once, 'voluntarily' took quaaludes and apologized for passing out.

Janice Dickinson (left in 1982) claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982 after giving her an unknown pill while they were in Lake Tahoe

JANICE DICKINSON 
The supermodel claims that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982 after giving her an unknown pill.   

Dickinson said in that 2014 interview that Cosby invited her to dinner to discuss a role on The Cosby Show and at one point offered her a glass of wine and a pill.

'The next morning I woke up, and I wasn't wearing my pajamas, and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man,' she told Entertainment Tonight.

'I remember waking up with my pajamas off and there was semen in between my legs.'

Dickinson said her last memory of the night was of Cosby taking off his robe and climbing on top of her, and that the next morning she remembers 'a lot of pain.' 

The supermodel claimed the incident occurred in Lake Tahoe, California in 1982.

In her memoir, Dickinson detailed some of her evening in Lake Tahoe with Cosby but told a very different story.

She said she was drinking with Cosby at dinner and after being invited back to his room told him she was tired, at which point he slammed his door in her face.

Legal claims made by Cosby and his team may be why she decided not to print her current version of the story.

She said back in 2014 that she came forward because she believes the other victims who have spoken publicly, and that it is the 'right thing to do.'

As for what she would say to Cosby if she saw him, Dickinson did not mince words.

'How dare you,' she said.

'Go f*ck yourself. How dare you take advantage of me. And I hope you rot.' 

She is also currently preparing to face off with Cosby in a defamation lawsuit filed because of his response to her allegations.

Soon after that 2014 interview aired, Cosby's attorney Marty Singer responded to requests for comment by disputing Dickinson's claim that she was drugged and raped by his client and calling the allegation 'an outrageous defamatory lie.'

A judge ruled in November that because he sent out that statement and a subsequent press release Singer will also face claims in the case.

'We fail to see how justice is served by granting Singer a windfall immunity based on Cosby’s pursuit of a meritless motion,' wrote California Second District Court of Appeals Associate Justice Laurence Rubin.

It was also ruled that Dickinson could recover all legal costs related to the appeal from Singer and Cosby. 

Chelan Lasha (left in 1986) claims that Cosby attacked her when she was just 17 in 1986 when she was an aspiring model

CHELAN LASHA 
Lasha said in a 2014 press conference that Cosby attacked her when she was just 17 in 1986 when she was an aspiring model.

She said her stepmother had sent pictures of her to the star and he called her at home in Las Vegas, inviting her to the Hilton Las Vegas, where he was performing and she had a job.

She then went up to Elvis Presley suite to meet him and after telling him she had a cold, he gave her a blue pill, which he said was an antihistimine, with a double shot of Amaretto. 

She said: 'He was rubbing my neck and saying that he might have to have someone come in and give me stress therapy.'

She claimed he told her to change into a Hilton bathrobe and wet her hair to see the modelling scout.

Someone did briefly come up to the room, pertaining to be from the Ford Modelling Agency -telling her to she needed to lose 10 pounds - and taking some pictures.

Then, Chelan said, Cosby walked her to the bedroom and gave her another shot of Amaretto, which he claimed would help her cold.

'I laid down,' she said: 'He laid down next to me on the bed and began pinching my left nipple and humping my leg while he was grunting.

'I could not open my eyes. I couldn't move or say anything. I felt something warm on my legs. Then I blacked out.

'Thirteen to sixteen hours later I woke up by hearing Mr Cosby clapping his hands and saying 'Daddy says wake up'. He gave me $1500. He said the money was to buy something nice for me and my grandmother and he also invited me to go to the Temptations show with my grandmother.

'My grandmother went but I did not go because I was too sick. Then he invited us to his show. My grandmother really want to go. I did not, but I went with her and heckled him. As a result, I was fired my from job.'

Lisa-Loote Lublin in 1989
Lisa-Loote Lublin
Lisa-Lotte Lublin (left in 1989) believes she was sexually assaulted by Cosby while passed out in his hotel in 1989
LISA-LOTTE LUBLIN 
Lublin said she met Cosby in 1989 at a hotel in Las Vegas and that he asked her to perform an improvisation so that he could evaluate her acting.

According to the ex-model, she and Cosby were in the Elvis Suite at the Hilton Hotel when he offered her two drinks and proceeded to pet her hair.

A short time later she passed out, but she remembered the color of the walls in the room and a flood of bright light she said in a 2015 press conference. 

She said that she believes she was sexually assaulted by Cosby while passed out in the hotel.

Prior to this, she and her mother had gone for a run with the comedian.

The defense argued that Lublin assumes she is a victim based on other media accounts but can only remember Cosby stroking her hair. 

Heidi Thomas (left in 1984) said she found herself in bed next to a naked Bill Cosby who was 'forcing himself' in her mouth back in 1984

HEIDI THOMAS 

In 1984, Heidi Thomas, nee Johnson, was a 24-year-old model from Denver, Colorado, who was dreaming of a career in acting.

Thomas was being represented by the city's top modelling agency, JF Images, but by 1984 she was questioning whether or not she wanted to stay in the business.

Then one day in the spring of 1984, she got a call from an agent who told her that a famous entertainer was searching for young talent to mentor.

Thomas said that Annie Maloney, of JF Images, instructed her to travel to Reno, Nevada, where she was supposed to meet with Bill Cosby, who allegedly had expressed interest in becoming her acting coach.Cosby greeted Thomas at the entrance and ushered her inside, according to the woman.

The aspiring actress began by performing a monologue for Cosby, who then asked her to do a cold read of a person who was intoxicated.

Thomas said Cosby was not impressed because to his mind, she was not convincing as a drunk. 

She recalled that Cosby wanted her to relax, so he poured her a glass of Chablis.

The married music teacher said that her memory of the next several hours is very hazy, but when she woke up later that night, she found herself in bed next to a naked Bill Cosby who was 'forcing himself' in her mouth.

According to the woman, the married comedian then got on top of her and said to her: 'I'm your friend... your friend is gonna [ejaculate] again,' according to the 54-year-old mother of three.

Thomas said she was confused as to what happened and eventually stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind her, but she later apologized to Cosby for being rude.

She spent three more days with Cosby and said they were all hazy and a blur. 

The defense argued she has given three versions of her story.
Witchy says :  Get the pervert  , he had no right  to abuse  you , STOP means STOP , He drugged you  , therefore you was not able to say stop .You were beautiful women  , before old Cosby  got  to you .
Give him Hell ............

Happy "14th Birthday" Jenny

On your  birthday  and forever  I will love you ,  Poppa.
I knew  I  were in the presence of an angel when you were born, and you have lived up to that promise. On your birthday, dear granddaughter, know that  I am  proud of what you have made of yourself.I am constantly amazed as I watch you grow. You uplift and inspire others with your compassion and thoughtfulness.  The world is yours to rule, and I am confident that you will do a better job than the generations before you.
May your wishes and aspirations become your destiny. You deserve it all, my darling granddaughter . If they were handing out awards for “Best Granddaughter of all Time,” I am certain that you would win hands down. You are an inspiration to us all.
I remember that joyful day when you arrived. Since then, you have multiplied  my  joy  and enriched  my  live. Granddaughters like you are the reason the world keeps on going. You have the passion, the courage and the wisdom to make this a better place for the generations that will come after you.
I was always  amazed at the person you have become. You are dedicated, compassionate and smart beyond your years. May your life be defined by dreams fulfilled.
 If I was given the chance to live my life all over again, I would want to live it the exact same way so that I can become a grandfather to you again. 
Happy birthday cuteness.
Poppa

Daughters are like the warm rays of sunshine on a chilly morning, a cool breeze in a humid afternoon and a soft wrap of chocolate trickle on a skewer of strawberry! Who wouldn't want a lovely daughter like you?

Happy Birthday  our dear angel!

Daddy  , Mama , Jonny , Sha , Man 

New species of moth named after Trump

  

Evolutionary biologist Vazrick Nazari has identified a new 1 centimetre- wide moth

 

It has a silky head of bright yellow scales, which the moth develops in adulthood, and its head has been described as orange-yellow in colouration, the body is white and the wings are brown or greyish.

Also an important detail - its genitalia is “comparatively smaller” than that of the Neopalpa neonata, its close relative.

Nazari has therefore named it thusly:

Neopalpa donaldtrumpi:

Oh yes, he did: the evolutionary biologist named the moth with the white-blonde tresses and tiny penis, after Donald Trump.

 

And where can you find this new species? Mexico.

Donaldtrumpi has been found in Southern California and all the way along the coast to Baja California, in Mexico. How appropriate.
Doctor Nazari said, "I hope that the president will make conservation of such fragile ecosystems in the U.S. a priority. These ecosystems still contain many undiscovered and undescribed species, and deserve to be protected for future generations."
Good luck with that Doctor !
Of course, an amused reader commented:
" Henceforth, known as the 'grabus vaginus' moth.

WALL ... Hey You ... Don't give in without a fight

 

THE WALL DOESN'T KEEP ANYONE OUT. IT MAKES YOU A PRISONER ;
A PRESS GAGGED, STATE CONTROLLED PRISONER.

DON'T BUILD WALLS ... BUILD BRIDGES


Bill Cosby is on trial again. But a lot has changed since his mistrial last year

 By Eric Levenson, CNN       Updated :P Sat March 31, 2018
New Cosby criminal trial is a 'different world' 02:37
(CNN)Less than a year after his trial ended in a hung jury, Bill Cosby will again stand trial on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

This time, though, the proceedings will unfold in a markedly different courtroom -- and a different world.
As before, the state criminal case centers on Cosby's word against that of Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee who alleges Cosby drugged her, then assaulted her in January 2004 at his home near Philadelphia.

Cosby, whose reputation has collapsed since his '80s sitcom redefined mainstream depictions of African-American families on TV, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. At his first trial, defense attorneys tried to poke holes in Constand's version of events and argued that they had a consensual sexual relationship.

This time, Cosby faces a different landscape, including the pressure of the #MeToo movement, the testimony of as many as five other women who claim similar misconduct by Cosby and his own new team of aggressive defense attorneys.

Those key differences are likely to make this retrial more difficult for the 80-year-old entertainer to win, legal experts said.
"It's unquestionably worse for him because of the five new witnesses that come in and also because the climate of the country is much worse" for defendants like Cosby, said Shan Wu, a former federal prosecutor who specialized in sex crimes.
"On the upside for him, I think the prosecution's case, other than the five new people, is still the same case, and last time they were unable to get a conviction," he said.
If convicted, Cosby could face up to 10 years in prison on each charge. Here's a look at what's changed in the case and what it might mean for Cosby.
The #MeToo movement

Bill Cosby leaves the courtroom at the Montgomery County Courthouse on March 5 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. 
What happened then:
 As dozens of women publicly shared claims of sexual misconduct by Cosby, his professional options dwindled and his once-esteemed legacy fell apart. His fall from grace was remarkable, particularly compared with his clean, groundbreaking image as "America's Dad."
What's happening now:
 Sexual harassment and assault allegations that emerged last fall against film producer Harvey Weinstein inspired a broader public reckoning with powerful men abusing their power and mistreating women.
The #MeToo movement has changed the way the public sees celebrities accused of misconduct and the women who say they've been abused. It has also solidified the idea that men who abuse their power should be punished for their misconduct, as we've seen other comedians, politicians and business executives who've lost their jobs and businesses.
What the change means: This cultural shift is particularly important for Cosby, a barrier-busting comedian who for years capitalized on his warm, fatherly reputation. The notion that celebrities with good reputations would not harm others "has been substantially deflated" by the #MeToo movement, Fordham Law associate professor James Cohen told CNN.
"It's now become much, much easier because of the #MeToo movement to see through that (idea) and to accept the fact that, just as in some of these other cases, it's likely not true," he said.
Bill Cosby trial: Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks
Bill Cosby trial: Mistrial declared after jury deadlocks
Although Constand's allegations against Cosby predate #MeToo, his retrial will unfold against its backdrop, Wu said.
"There is the potential that instead of the prosecution having to try a case against a very beloved American icon, instead there's the possibility that they're now bringing a criminal case against another male predator of this generation of guys who has been getting away with it for ages," he said.
Cultural movements can impact juries, said Michelle Madden Dempsey, a former prosecutor and a law professor at Villanova University. But it will all depend on the specific makeup of the jury.
"I'm not naive enough to think that cultural shifts don't impact the jury's understanding of the evidence," she said, "but I also have confidence that jurors make every effort to judge the evidence before them."
5 'prior bad acts' witnesses

Who is Bill Cosby's accuser Andrea Constand? 
What happened then: Dozens of women with stories similar to Constand's have publicly come forward to accuse Cosby of sexual misconduct. However, many of the allegations fall outside the statute of limitations for assault cases. Constand's case is the only one that has yielded charges against Cosby.
Judge Steven O'Neill ruled at Cosby's first trial that prosecutors could feature testimony from one other woman with a claim similar to Constand's.
Kelly Johnson testified that Cosby gave her drugs that incapacitated her and then assaulted her. Prosecutors argued that her testimony showed that Cosby's actions were part of a concerted pattern and so, in Constand's case, were not simply a mistake.
What's happening now: For the retrial, O'Neill ruled that as many as five additional women with similar accusations against Cosby may testify against the comedian.
Among them is model and reality TV personality Janice Dickinson, who has been subpoenaed to testify at the second trial, a source close to the case said. Dickinson said in a November 2014 interview that Cosby sexually assaulted her in 1982 after the two had dinner in Lake Tahoe. At the time, Cosby attorney Martin Singer called the accusation "a fabricated lie."
But why did the judge change his thinking on "prior bad acts" witnesses? O'Neill did not provide a detailed explanation for his decision.
But having witnessed the defense's and prosecution's strategies during the first trial, O'Neill might have concluded that more witnesses would be relevant to the case, said Dennis McAndrews, a former prosecutor who attended Cosby's first trial.
"That's a judgment call by a judge," he said. "It can change depending on changed circumstances."
It's not yet clear who else prosecutors will call to the stand.
What it means: The increase from one so-called "prior bad acts" witness to five is likely to bolster the prosecution's case that Cosby's interactions with Constand were part of a pattern and make her allegations more believable, legal experts said.
"There is safety in numbers," Cohen said.
If the witnesses' experiences are similar to Constand's, Dempsey added, then the jury may see a pattern, or modus operandi, in Cosby's acts.

In Cosby trial, the awesome power of jurors
"The purpose of introducing the 'other acts' evidence is to cut against the idea that this is a one-off, he said-she said where he could have reasonably thought that she was consenting to what was going on," she said.
Allowing these "prior bad acts" witnesses means there will be "more voices pointed at him," Cohen said, a difficult issue for a defendant to counter.
"It's the similar acts that normally will kill a defendant as opposed to the actual charges," he said. "There's just something about them that jurors take particularly seriously."
Too seriously, perhaps. Wu cautioned that the change from one "prior bad acts" witness to five was a controversial decision that could make the case vulnerable on appeal.
"The potential for prejudice (in these cases) is always, of course, enormous," he said.
New team of attorneys

What happened then:
 At the first trial, Cosby was represented in court by attorneys Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa.
What's happening now: 
Cosby's lead attorney in the retrial will be Tom Mesereau, best known for successfully defending Michael Jackson in his 2005 child molestation case. Kathleen Bliss, Lane Vines, Becky James and others will also represent the comedian.
Mesereau's tough tactics and his flowing white hair made him a widely recognizable figure in the world of celebrity legal defense. In the wake of Jackson's acquittal, Barbara Walters named him one of the 10 Most Fascinating People of 2005.
Mesereau has represented several other celebrities. He defended boxing star Mike Tyson, who was being investigated for sexual assault in San Bernardino County, California; the case resulted in no charges. He also represented Robert Blake, the actor accused of murdering his wife, during pretrial hearings and got Blake out on bail. Blake was acquitted of murder.
What it means:
 The new legal team appears willing to take a more aggressive tack in Cosby's defense, experts said.
"They (have) a very aggressive, showman-like kind of approach, while Brian McMonagle's was kind of more of a Philadelphia street fighter approach," McAndrews said.
For example, Mesereau's team asked to introduce as evidence the monetary settlement in Constand's 2006 civil suit against Cosby, which Mesereau said will show how "greedy" Constand was.

Bill Cosby's attorneys plan to attack victim as 'greedy' in coming trial

Mesereau has also asked to include testimony from Margo Jackson. According to Mesereau, Jackson claims that Constand admitted that she could fabricate she was drugged and raped by a celebrity and get a lot of money.
Though he can be a bit unorthodox, Mesereau is a courageous, highly prepared lawyer, said his friend, Laurie Levenson, a professor at the law school at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.
"I would say he's confident, but I don't think he's overly aggressive," she said. "He's zealous."
For instance, Levenson recalled that Mesereau asked the key witness testifying against Michael Jackson a simple yet unorthodox question: Why are you mad at the defendant?
Asking "why" is generally a big no-no for criminal defense attorneys, she said. While examining witnesses, lawyers tend to avoid open-ended questions that might result in answers they're unprepared to handle.
The witness answered that Jackson had been his best friend, then ditched him, bolstering Mesereau's argument that the witness was motivated by a personal grudge.
"That was a brilliant move," Levenson said. "It was gutsy, and it worked."
That moment, she said, could offer a preview of how Mesereau might handle the Cosby retrial.
"I do think he will do some tough questioning. I don't think that's the same as beating up on witnesses, but that may just be a matter of tone," she said. "But I think he has no fear of asking the tough questions.