No Verdict On Bill Cosby's Trial On 4th Day
The jury handling Bill Cosby’s sexual assault trial said it was deadlocked and could not reach a definitive verdict Thursday, after more than 40 hours of deliberations over four days. A spokesman for the stand-up comedian and actor told reporters gathered outside the Montgomery County courthouse that the judge should declare a mistrial.
“This thing is a deadlock,” Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt said, the Los Angeles Times reported. “If they don’t have a verdict by now, we’d hope the judge would relieve them.”
A local journalist posted pictures and updates of the trial on Twitter.
The judge rejected the call for mistrial, and instead ordered the 12-member jury to reconvene Friday and continue their deliberations until they can end the impasse and reach a decision. "If you are still deadlocked, you should report that to me. If you've reached a unanimous decision on some of the charges, please report that back to me," Judge Steven O'Neill said Thursday before the jury began their deliberations afresh, CNN reported.
Read: 5 Key Quotes From The Bill Cosby Trial As The Prosecution Rests
Keeping in mind the high profile nature of the trial, where if found guilty, Cosby faces up to 30 years of jail time for three counts of aggravated indecent assault against former Temple University basketball staffer Andrea Constand in 2004, the judge refused to impose a deadline for the jury deliberations.
“I will not set any specific time for continuation of deliberations,” he said, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We will await further word from the jury.”
The judge’s decision was echoed by Gloria Allred, Constand’s lawyer, who snapped at Wyatt for pushing for mistrial. Questioning Wyatt’s knowledge of the law, Allred made it clear: “Jury can deliberate however long they wish.”
Allred also expressed disappointment at the fact that the jury was unable to reach a verdict, stating that a retrial would be too expensive. Also, dragging out Cosby’s case would just give the defenders a chance to make it less of a public event than it has become, Allred said, according to Bucks County Courier Times.
Read: Andrea Constand's Mom Challenges Bill Cosby During Trial For Alleged Sexual Assault
Referring to the “emotional and physical toll” of the trial on Cosby, Wyatt said the judge should declare a mistrial since the jury has already exceeded Montgomery County record for deliberations. A court officer, however, stated that the records did not reflect the maximum time taken for deliberations by a jury as far as criminal cases are concerned.
It remains the sole discretion of the judge in charge of the trial to send back the jury as many times as required to continue deliberations and to decide when to declare a hung jury and mistrial.
As court proceeding came to a close Thursday, the jury forewoman said the members could not reach "a unanimous consensus on any” charges against Cosby. Following the failure to reach a unanimous decision, the judge encouraged the 12 jury members to come to a consensus.
“Each of you has a duty to consult with one another and to deliberate with a view to reaching an agreement if it can be done without violence to your individual judgment,” O'Neill stated. Jury deliberations will resume Friday morning.
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