A judge in Pennsylvania agreed to delay Bill Cosby’s sexual assault retrial until March 2018 to allow his new attorneys time to get caught up on the case.
The trial for the 80-year-old actor was scheduled to start Nov. 6, Reuters reports. Montgomery County County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven O’Neil announced the decision Tuesday.
Attorneys Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa both withdrew from the legal team earlier this month. (RELATED: Mistrial Declared In Bill Cosby Sexual Assault Trial)
(Photo credit: DOMINICK REUTER/AFP/Getty Images)
One of Cosby’s new defense attorneys is Tom Mesereau, who represented Michael Jackson and helped him get an acquittal on 14 charges related to child molestation in 2005. (RELATED: Bill Cosby’s Lead Attorney Backs Out Before Sexual Assault Retrial)
Cosby’s public relations representative Andrew Wyatt said “changes had to be made” after the first trial, adding that going from McMonagle to Mesereau was like upgrading from a Mercedes-Benz to a Rolls-Royce. Some reports indicated that McMonagle was unhappy with how Cosby’s spokesman handled things during the trial.
In June, O’Neil declared a mistrial after the jury remained “deadlocked on all counts” following six days of deliberations where the comedian stood accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his Philadelphia home in 2004.