Most in Cosby jury pool have made up minds, know of #MeToo

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) – Prosecutors and the defense began picking a jury for Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial Monday amid a powerful #MeToo movement that has pierced the consciousness of the men and women who will sit in judgment of the 80-year-old comedian.

All but one of the 120 potential jurors who answered questions about their background and views told a judge they had heard or seen something about #MeToo, the cultural campaign that’s been exposing sexual misconduct in the entertainment and news industries.

Cosby is charged with drugging and sexually molesting a Temple University women’s basketball administrator at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. He says the sexual encounter with Andrea Constand was consensual. His first trial ended in a hung jury.

The former TV star once known as “America’s Dad” for his portrayal of kindly Dr. Cliff Huxtable on his NBC hit “The Cosby Show” was in the courtroom as jury selection got underway.

All but 10 prospective jurors indicated they had knowledge of the case – with more than half saying they had already formed an opinion about Cosby’s guilt or innocence.

Judge Steven O’Neill told the jury pool the trial could last more than a month, adding the panel would be sequestered in a “very nice” hotel. About half said the length of the trial would pose a hardship.

The jury in Cosby’s first trial deadlocked last June, months before #MeToo started toppling famous men in rapid succession, among them movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, “Today” show host Matt Lauer, actor Kevin Spacey and Democratic U.S. Sen. Al Franken.

Veteran lawyers and jury consultants say #MeToo could cut both ways for Cosby, making some potential jurors more hostile and others more likely to think men are being unfairly accused.

Last year’s trial was mostly a case of he-said-she-said. For the retrial, a judge has ruled that jurors can hear from five additional accusers, giving prosecutors a chance to portray Cosby as a serial predator.

The jury questioning revealed some potential witnesses, including Dawn Staley, the South Carolina women’s basketball coach who was Constand’s boss at Temple; Temple board President Patrick O’Connor, who represented Cosby in Constand’s 2005-06 lawsuit against him; and Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, the former district attorney who charged Cosby just before she left office in 2015.

The AP does not typically identify people who say they are victims of sexual assault unless they grant permission, which Constand has done.

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For more on the Cosby trial, go to apnews.com/tag/CosbyonTrial

Bill Cosby, left, arrives for his sexual assault trial with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Tom Mesereau, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, arrives for jury selection in Cosby’s sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Tom Mesereau, left, and Kathleen Bliss, lawyers for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, arrive for jury selection in Cosby’s sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Bill Cosby, center, arrives for jury selection in his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Bill Cosby, second from right, arrives for jury selection in his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Bill Cosby, right, arrives for jury selection in his sexual assault retrial with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, center, at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Monday, April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. (AP Photo/Corey Perrine)

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, right, arrives, with his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, for jury selection for his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, April 2, 2018. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, arrives for jury selection in the sexual assault retrial for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, April 2, 2018. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby, right, arrives, with his spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, for jury selection for his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, April 2, 2018. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

Lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, Tom Mesereau, arrives for jury selection for Cosby’s sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, April 2, 2018. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)