A Parrot, "Ozzie," Gets Attention, Brings Much-Needed Laughter to Cosby Trial

“Ozzie” the parrot flew right in to Bill Cosby trial testimony this week, providing one of the more light-hearted moments at a trial characterized by very sordid details.

Montco Courthouse Home to Bill Cosby Trial/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

A recording of the Jan. 17, 2005, phone conversation Cosby had with the mother of alleged sex assault victim Andrea Constand was at the center of the trial on Wednesday when it was played for the jury during the testimony of Andrea’s Canadian mother, Gianna.

During the phone conversation, Cosby, who initiated the call from Los Angeles, California, apparently suspected that Mrs. Constand was recording the call at her home in Canada and questioned her about a persistent beeping he heard on the phone, according to testimony. Gianna Constand told an obviously suspicious Cosby the sound was probably her parrot in the background or her call waiting, testifying she might have been getting a call from another daughter at the time.

At that point, Gianna Constand turned to the jury and District Attorney Kevin R. Steele and said, “Yes, I do have a parrot. His name is ‘Ozzie,’” she said lovingly, eliciting chuckles from everyone in the courtroom.

At that moment “Ozzie” had stolen the show at Cosby’s trial.

Testimony revealed Gianna Constand really was recording Cosby, whom she met in 2003 through her daughter, with a recorder she purchased earlier that day at a Radio Shack in Pickering. Appearing anguished at times, Andrea’s mother testified she recorded the conversation to capture Cosby’s alleged admission to giving her daughter pills and to having sexual contact with Andrea. During the recorded conversation she asked Cosby to reveal the name of the medication he’d given to Andrea.

“I’d never done that before,” Gianna Constand said about recording someone.

Incidentally, Canadian law permits the interception of a private communication where only one party consents, unlike in the U.S., where two-party consent is required.

During the conversation, Cosby inquired about Andrea’s career goals and offered to pay for Andrea’s graduate schooling, according to testimony, “as long as she maintains a 3.0 average, she’ll be fine.”

Bill Cosby Leaves Montgomery County Courthouse/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Later, during Cosby’s March 2006 deposition in a civil lawsuit brought against him by Andrea Constand, Cosby allegedly admitted that he feared Constand’s mother recorded him, according to court papers and testimony.

That recording could be the first and only time that jurors hear Cosby’s voice since he is not expected to testify when the trial resumes on Monday.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, the presiding Cosby trial judge, ruled last year that the recorded call was admissible evidence.

Stay tuned. I’ll have daily reports for Digital First Media publications. You can also find breaking Cosby news by following @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter.

Cosby Drama's Cast of Players: The Prosecutors

When prosecutors enter a Montgomery County courtroom on Monday their time in the international spotlight reaches a crescendo as the celebrity trial of Bill Cosby gets under way.

The players in the widely-followed legal drama include:

THE PROSECUTION

Kevin R. Steele

Steele, 50, of Lower Merion, was elected district attorney in November 2015 and was sworn-in on Jan. 4, 2016, to oversee an office that investigates or prosecutes about 9,000 cases annually. It was Steele, as first assistant district attorney, who announced the sex assault charges against Cosby on Dec. 30, 2015, before the 12-year statute of limitations to file charges expired.

Steele, a graduate of The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University who also received a Master of Laws Degree in Trial Advocacy from Temple University Law School, joined the district attorney’s office in 1995 after a two-year stint with the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office. In Montgomery County, Steele served as an assistant prosecutor, captain of the narcotics unit and chief of the trials division before being appointed first assistant in 2008.

Montgomery County DA Kevin R. Steele/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Steele, who has taught as an adjunct professor at Cabrini College since 2004 and is a married father of three children, prosecuted several high-profile cases, including that of Raghunandan Yandamuri, 30, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by a jury in 2014 in connection with the Oct. 22, 2012, deaths of 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna and her 10-month-old granddaughter, Saanvi.

Steele also prosecuted former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, the first Democrat and the first woman ever elected attorney general, who was convicted during an August 2016 trial of charges of perjury, obstructing administration of law, official oppression, false swearing and conspiracy.

M. Stewart Ryan

Ryan, 30, joined the district attorney’s office in 2012. Since then, he has served in all divisions, including pre-trials, juvenile, appeals and trials. As part of the trials division, he was a member of the firearms unit and the sex crimes unit before being promoted to the captain of the sex crimes unit in February 2015.

M. Stewart Ryan/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Ryan, who earned his law degree from Widener University Delaware Law School in 2012, was part of the team that prosecuted Kane and Yandamuri. Ryan also prosecuted well-known Norristown lawyer Vincent Cirillo Jr., who was convicted of raping a female client and is serving a 10- to-20-year prison term.

Kristen M. Feden

Feden, 34, joined the district attorney’s office in June 2012, after having served as the law clerk for county Judge Garrett D. Page. Since joining the office, Feden, who earned her law degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 2009, has served as a prosecutor on various units including most recently as a member of the sex crimes unit before her promotion in February 2017 to captain of the domestic violence unit.

Prior to law school, Feden worked as a financial analyst for Bloomberg, L.P. in New York, according to her biography.

Kristen M. Feden/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Feden was part of the team that prosecuted Yandamuri. Feden also prosecuted Charles Meredith IV, a former tennis coach at a Delaware County school who was convicted of having improper contact with a teenage girl he coached by sending her inappropriate text messages.

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.

Cosby Drama's Cast of Players: The Judge

Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O’Neill is presiding over the trial of entertainer Bill Cosby, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his Cheltenham home after plying her with blue pills and wine more than a decade ago.

Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O;Neill/Submitted Photo

O’Neill, who is currently the administrative judge for the criminal division of the 22-member bench, was appointed to the county bench in April 2002 by then Governor Mark S. Schweiker and was sworn in on July 29, 2002, as a county judge, according to his biography. 

O’Neill was then elected to a 10-year term in 2004 and was retained for another 10-year term in 2014.

O’Neill, a 1975 graduate of Drexel University who received his law degree from Villanova University in 1978, has been assigned to the criminal division since 2007 and presently serves as its administrative judge.

Additionally, O’Neill serves as the administrative and presiding judge of the county’s drug treatment court. O’Neill launched the drug treatment court and has overseen its operation for more than 10 years.

Prior to becoming a judge, O’Neill, who is married and has three grown children, served as a county solicitor as well as a solicitor for the zoning hearing boards of Lower Merion and Upper Merion townships. Judge O’Neill also served as an assistant district attorney for Montgomery County from 1979 to 1984.

O’Neill previously presided over some high-profile local trials, including that of Raghunandan Yandamuri, 30, an Upper Merion man who was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury in October 2014 in connection with the Oct. 22, 2012, deaths of 61-year-old Satyavathi Venna and her 10-month-old granddaughter, Saanvi, during a botched kidnapping at The Marquis apartment complex in Upper Merion.

In November 2014, O’Neill formally sentenced Yandamuri to death for the murders.

Kudos to County Workers Making Courthouse Shine During High-Profile Cosby Trial

The Montgomery County Courthouse is about to be the focus of worldwide attention as the sexual assault trial of actor and comedian Bill Cosby gets under way on Monday.

Reporters from media outlets around the globe are beginning to descend upon the area and county officials have made sure the courthouse looks its best while the highest-profile criminal trial to ever take place in these halls of justice unfolds.

Last week, county public property employees were putting fresh coats of paint on jury rooms, mowing lawns and cleaning courtrooms, all in preparation for the worldwide attention. Kudos to those county employees who I observed going the extra mile to make sure the courthouse facility shines. If a bonus is out of the question, then at the very least they deserve some praise from their bosses and county leaders.

Cosby Trial Will Unfold in Courtroom A/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

During a hearing last week, Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who will preside over the Cosby trial, said it was “a case of extraordinary pretrial publicity.” I think the amount of pretrial publicity is about to be overshadowed by the amount of publicity the trial is going to attract during the next two weeks.

This amount of attention could be a boon for local restaurants and hotels. Who is going to provide coffee, eats and beds for all those journalists?

While the trial will be taking place inside, expect a lot of things to be going on outside the courthouse too. A podium is scheduled to be set up in a courtyard in the event the lawyers in the case speak during breaks or at the end of the day’s testimony.

Montco Sheriff's Deputies Install Crowd Control Fences/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Additionally, an expert from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) will be on site beginning Monday.

According to officials, Kristen Houser, NSVRC chief public affairs officer, will be available to provide an expert perspective and important context on sexual violence, including victim behavior and trauma, offender dynamics, and the use of drugs and alcohol to perpetrate sexual violence, to members of the media covering the trial.

In light of potential rainy weather this week, county officials have given the go-ahead to media outlets to erect canopies during the Cosby trial. However, those canopies cannot be placed on the grassy areas outside the courthouse but can be placed directly on the concrete, either near the courtyard area or on top of the upper plaza area near the Swede Street entrance.

Officials said media canopies should also be placed so as not to interfere with any pedestrian traffic.  County officials advised media outlets to bring some sort of weight or anchor to secure the canopy on the concrete.

Bill Cosby Leaves Court/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

From crowds to canopies, it should be an interesting few weeks here at the courthouse.

William Henry Cosby Jr., as his name appears on charging documents,  faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University athletic department employee, at his Cheltenham home after plying her with blue pills and wine sometime between mid-January and mid-February 2004.

Stay tuned. Cosby’s trial gets under way on Monday morning.

Once the trial begins, I’ll have daily reports for Digital First Media publications. You can also find breaking Cosby news by following @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter.

Who Will Show Up to Watch Cosby's Legal Drama?

All eyes, from legal experts and celebrity-watchers to local residents just seeking to satisfy their curiosity, will be on actor Bill Cosby, who turns 80 in July, and former Temple University athletic department employee Andrea Constand, 44, this week as they come face-to-face for the first time in decades during a high-profile legal drama.

Bill Cosby at Montgomery County Courthouse/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

I suspect you’ll be able to hear a pin drop as Constand, now a massage therapist in Canada, walks to the witness box to confront Cosby with her allegations that he sexually assaulted her at his Cheltenham mansion after plying her with blue pills and wine in early 2004.  It will be a dramatic moment to soak in.

But there are other moments and people to watch for during this trial.

Camille Cosby

Will she or won’t she make an appearance? That is the question on the minds of many when it comes to Cosby’s wife of more than 50 years. During the 18 months of pretrial legal wrangling that ensued since Cosby’s December 2015 arrest, Camille has not appeared with her husband’s entourage at the Montgomery County courthouse. She’s been noticeably absent and the times I’ve been asked by people, “Was Camille there?” are too numerous to count. Time will tell.

If Mrs. Cosby does make an appearance, watch for the media and any Hollywood paparazzi on site to go wild.

Courtroom observers also will be looking for appearances by Cosby’s daughters, Erinn and Ensa, who have publically supported their father during recent interviews leading up to the trial.

Bruce Castor Jr.

Will the former county district attorney who chose not to charge Cosby with any crimes in 2005 make an appearance during the trial? It’s unclear if the defense team will call him as a witness.

During an intense pretrial hearing last year, defense lawyer Brian J. McMonagle argued Cosby had a so-called 2005 “non-prosecution promise” from Castor. McMonagle raised the alleged 2005 Castor promise to try to have the charges dismissed against Cosby, but Judge Steven T. O’Neill rejected that argument and moved the case forward.

Bruce L. Castor Jr./Submitted Photo

Castor, district attorney from 2000 to 2008, previously claimed there wasn’t enough “reliable and admissible” evidence to criminally charge Cosby in 2005.

Cosby’s lawyers contended the 2005 non-prosecution promise was made for the express purpose of inducing Cosby to testify in Constand’s civil litigation against him, removing from him the ability to claim his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, “thus forcing him to sit for a deposition under oath in a civil case” in 2005 and 2006.

Defense lawyers claimed District Attorney Kevin R. Steele “repudiated the agreement” with Castor and based the criminal charges lodged against Cosby on testimony Cosby gave during the deposition connected to the civil suit. Steele argued there was no non-prosecution promise.

Cosby was deposed in connection with the lawsuit over four days in September 2005 and March 2006. The suit ultimately settled for an undisclosed amount on July 13, 2006.

Current prosecutors reopened the criminal investigation in July 2015 after portions of Cosby’s deposition connected to the civil suit were unsealed by a federal judge and his alleged damaging testimony, that he previously gave quaaludes to women with whom he wanted to have sex, was exposed.

Castor has been known to show up at some other high-profile trials. Last year, he made a surprise appearance at the obstruction trial of former state Attorney General Kathleen Kane. Will he show up at Cosby’s trial? I’ll let you know if there’s a sighting.

ALLEGED ‘PRIOR VICTIM NUMBER SIX’

In February, O’Neill ruled prosecutors can present the testimony of “prior alleged victim six” at Cosby’s trial. Steele had asked the judge to allow a total of 13 other women who accused Cosby of uncharged sexual misconduct to testify at the trial, but O’Neill ruled 12 of the women cannot testify.

Bill Cosby 2015 Arrest Photo/Courtesy Montco DA's Office

O’Neill’s ruling was considered one of the major pretrial legal decisions in the Cosby case. Legal insiders believed the key to the prosecution’s case against Cosby was the admissibility of evidence involving alleged accusers who came forward after Constand’s allegations came to light in 2005.

“Victim six,” the one O’Neill will allow to testify, is identified in court papers as a 29-year-old woman who met Cosby around 1990 and was an assistant to Cosby’s personal appearance agent at the time. 

The woman claimed Cosby sexually assaulted her during a lunchtime meeting in 1996 at the actor’s bungalow at the Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles after offering her some red wine and a white pill to relax, according to court papers. The woman claimed she became incapacitated and was unable to consent to or to resist Cosby’s unwanted sexual advances, prosecutors alleged.

GLORIA ALLRED

The well-known celebrity lawyer from Los Angeles has been present at numerous Cosby pretrial hearings and she represents many of the 13 other alleged Cosby accusers that prosecutors sought to have included at the trial.

Gloria Allred/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

McMonagle and co-defense lawyer Angela C. Agrusa previously argued many of the women represented by Allred launched media campaigns, making their claims suspect.

Allred has often stepped to a podium outside the courthouse to address the press after the pretrial hearings. Everyone will be watching to see if Allred is accompanied to court by any of her clients.

Stay tuned. Cosby’s trial gets under way on Monday morning.

Once the trial begins, I’ll have daily reports for Digital First Media publications. You can also find breaking Cosby news by following @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter.

Bill Cosby's Defense Team Grows As Trial Nears

Just days before his sexual assault trial begins in Montgomery County, entertainer Bill Cosby has added two more California lawyers to assist his defense team.

Lead local lawyer Brian J. McMonagle filed petitions in county court on Friday asking a judge to allow lawyers Delilah G. Vinzon and Ryan D. Austin, each of Los Angeles, to be admitted  “for the limited purpose of assisting in the representation” of Cosby.  

Vinzon is a partner in the Law Firm of Liner, LLP, in Los Angeles, while Austin is an associate in the firm, according to court documents.

Under Pennsylvania Bar Admission Rules, lawyers or advocates who are qualified to practice in the courts of another state may be “specially admitted to the Bar of this Commonwealth for purposes limited to a particular matter,” according to court documents filed by McMonagle.

Defense Lawyer Brian J. McMonagle/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

“Here there is no good cause for denial of the special admission of (Vinzon and Austin) to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” McMonagle wrote.

Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who is presiding over the trial, granted McMonagle’s requests on Friday.

Vinzon, who was admitted to the California Bar in 2002, and Austin, who was admitted to the California Bar in 2012, are associated with the same law firm in which lawyer Angela C. Agrusa is a partner. Agrusa joined the Cosby defense team as co-counsel with McMonagle last October.

Even though the judge granted the special admissions, “Mr. McMonagle remains the attorney of record in this case…,” court papers spell out.

Bill Cosby Leaves MontcoPa Court/Photo by Carl Hessler Jr.

Cosby’s trial gets under way on Monday morning.

William Henry Cosby Jr., as his name appears on charging documents,  faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations he had inappropriate sexual contact with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University athletic department employee, at his home along New Second Street in Cheltenham after plying her with blue pills and wine sometime between mid-January and mid-February 2004.

The charges were lodged against Cosby on Dec. 30, 2015, before the 12-year statute of limitations to file charges expired.

If convicted of the charges at trial, Cosby, an entertainment icon who remains free on 10 percent of $1 million bail, faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 to 30 years in prison.

Once the trial begins, I’ll have daily reports for Digital First Media publications. You can also find breaking Cosby news by following @MontcoCourtNews on Twitter.