Day: April 8, 2018

When Bill Cosby’s retrial on sexual assault charges begins on Monday, the man once known as “America’s Dad” will face the same judge and district attorney in the same Pennsylvania courtroom as he did last June when a hung jury failed to reach a verdict.

But the familiar trappings cannot disguise the reality that Cosby’s second trial on charges that he assaulted a former friend in 2004 will have significant differences from his first.

Cosby’s second trial will also play out against the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, which last autumn prompted a wave of sexual assault and misconduct accusations against dozens of powerful men in Hollywood, business and politics.

The movement has also stirred a national dialogue about the way society treats people who step forward to tell stories of sexual abuse.

More than 60 women have accused Cosby of sexual assaults dating back decades. The entertainer, now 80, has denied all of the accusations, saying any sexual encounters he may have had were consensual.

The Pennsylvania case, brought by Andrea Constand, a former administrator at Temple University, Cosby’s alma mater, is the only criminal prosecution to result from the accusations, most of which are too old to allow for charges.

At the second trial, five other Cosby accusers are expected to take the stand under oath and detail their accusations against him. Their testimony could bolster the prosecution’s argument that the celebrity best known for his role as the benign patriarch on “The Cosby Show” was a serial predator who preyed on vulnerable women.

The trial judge, Steven O’Neill, allowed prosecutors to call only one of the other accusers to the stand during the first trial. She told jurors that Cosby drugged and assaulted her in1996, in much the same manner that Constand testified Cosby did to her in 2004 at his home.

This time, prosecutors had sought to call as many as 19 other accusers, while defense attorneys objected to allowing any to appear, arguing that they would unduly prejudice the jury.

O’Neill ruled that prosecutors could call up to five women from a group of eight accusers that includes former model and television personality Janice Dickinson.

Such “prior bad act” witnesses are typically barred for fear jurors will be more likely to convict a defendant based on past behavior, rather than the specific charges before them. In rare cases, judges have permitted such testimony to show a defendant engaged in a pattern of behavior, using a particular modus operandi.

“It’s not a good day for the defense whenever a judge allows these types of witnesses to be called,” said Douglas Sughrue, a Pittsburgh-based defense lawyer. “You’re obviously now not just fighting one victim.”

Studies have shown that mock juries are far more likely to convict defendants after hearing from multiple prior accusers, particularly in sexual crime cases, according to Aviva Orenstein, a law professor at Indiana University and an expert in trial evidence.

“Even if he were able to discredit each individual woman, at a certain point, the jury is going to think, where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” she said.

The #MeToo movement has also stressed a need to be more receptive to accusers’ accounts.

“There’s no doubt the environment is more sensitive,” Sughrue said. “Your audience is maybe more sensitive to it, they’re maybe more aware of it.”

The defense case will also have some major differences, starting with the lawyers. Cosby’s new attorney is Los Angeles-based Tom Mesereau, best known for successfully defending singer Michael Jackson at his 2005 child molestation trial.

The defense has said it would seek to portray Constand as a liar motivated by a desire to get a piece of Cosby’s fortune.

That strategy got a boost this week when the judge said he would allow testimony from a woman who claims Constand mused aloud about falsely accusing a famous man to get money.

He also said  the defense could introduce evidence of Cosby’s payment to Constand to settle her civil lawsuit, a detail that has been kept from public view, including the jury from thefirst trial.

This story was written by Reuters.
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Outrage, compassion, a desire for justice: these are some of the motivations of 10 women honored by the U.S. State Department this year with the International Women of Courage Award. Mike O’Sullivan spoke with several recipients at a recent stop in Los Angeles.
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Comedy is a field dominated by men, but that’s changing. Among the trendsetters is Suzie Afridi, a Palestinian-American stand-up comedian. Afridi says she’s probably not living the life her parents wanted for her when she was growing up in the West Bank. But she says how else would a feminist Palestinian Christian, married to a Muslim man, trying to raise a cross-cultural 9-year-old, express herself, except by making people laugh? VOA’s Samina Ahsan takes a look at Afridi’s unlikely journey.
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From a refugee camp in Pakistan to an exhibit at the Smithsonian, Saeeda Etebari has had a remarkable journey, even more extraordinary because she is deaf in a region where there is less opportunity for people with disabilities and also a woman in a field dominated by men. Munaza Shaheed profiles the talented young jewelry-maker.
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The 2018 World Cup of freestyle wrestling opened Saturday in the U.S. state of Iowa without Russia and Iran, two traditionally strong teams in the sport.

Iran, the six-time defending champ, pulled out in March without citing a reason, although many tied it to the resignation of the Iranian federation president, Rasoul Khadem, over issues related to the country’s state policy of refusing to compete against Israeli competition.

Khadem quit in protest after United World Wrestling (UWW) ruled that an Iranian wrestler threw a match at the Under-23 World Championships in November to avoid having to face an Israeli opponent and temporarily banning the athlete and his coach.

Russia pulled out of the tournament a week ago after saying it did not have enough time for the visa process needed to get the athletes cleared for the journey to Iowa City.

UWW invited Mongolia and India to replace Iran and Russia the annual meet, considered the second-biggest event outside of the World Championships, which will be held in Hungary in October.

“Our team was poised to do well [even if] Russia and Iran [were competing], so that’s a little bit disappointing,” said Rich Bender, the director of USA Wrestling.

“Certainly, in light of the current political situation and the relations between our governments and the drama around what’s going on in our State Departments, with their embassy and ours, this was not the year to wait until the last minute to apply,” he said of the Russians.

Bill Zadick, the U.S. freestyle coach, said, “It’s disappointing that they [Russians and Iranians] weren’t able to make it to the event because they have great wrestling traditions.”

“Despite our difference in politics on the government side, our federations share a brotherhood and have a really positive relationships that I think both sides value,” he added.

The U.S. team beat India in its first match, while Mongolia beat Kazakhstan.

Some material for this report came from AP, Sioux City Journal, Des Moines Register and Interfax.
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