Cosby Drama's Cast of Players: The Defense

When Bill Cosby's defense team enters a Montgomery County courtroom on Monday, the team's time in the international spotlight reaches a crescendo as the celebrity trial gets under way.

The players in the widely-followed legal drama include:

THE DEFENSE

Brian J. McMonagle

McMonagle, 58, who is leading Cosby’s defense team, began his career in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where he was one of the youngest lawyers to prosecute high-profile homicide cases, according to a biography on the website of the law firm McMonagle, Perri, McHugh & Mischak.

According to his website, McMonagle’s clients have included “movie and television personalities, professional athletes, high ranking law enforcement officials, politicians, CEOs, physicians, clergy and attorneys.”

Brian J. McMonagle/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Locally, McMonagle, a graduate of Capital University Law School, made headlines when he represented Robert Kerns, a former chairman of the county GOP Committee, who in November 2013 was arrested and charged by county prosecutors with allegedly drugging and raping a woman after a work party.

However, in March 2014, McMonagle enlisted two experts to review the victim’s blood reports and found they had been read incorrectly by prosecutors. The reports indicated there had been no trace of drugs in the victim’s blood, whereas prosecutors initially alleged the report indicated the victim was drugged.

The district attorney’s office subsequently withdrew the charges against Kerns in April 2014 and forwarded the investigation to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General which then handled charges against Kerns.

In May 2014, the lead charges of rape and sexual assault were dismissed against Kerns, who subsequently pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of indecent assault. By pleading no contest, Kerns did not admit to the assault, but acknowledged that state prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him.

Angela C. Agrusa

Agrusa, who entered Cosby’s criminal defense case in October 2016, is a partner in the Law Firm of Liner, LLP, in Los Angeles. According to Agrusa’s website, “Angela tried high-stakes complex commercial, class action and civil cases on behalf of international brands, major companies and prominent individuals."

Agrusa, a graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, previously represented Cosby in his civil trials.

Lawyer Angela C. Agrusa with co-counsel Brian McMonagle/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

“Angela’s clients include Fortune 500, public and privately held companies, municipalities and prominent public figures in a broad range of industries, including entertainment, media, consumer products and services, advertising and hospitality,” according to her website.