Bill Cosby is set to be retried on historic charges for sexual assault, despite the judge declaring a mistrial just last month.
Cosby’s highly-publicised indecent assault trial came to a dramatic close with a hung jury verdict on June 17, after a jury spent over 50 hours deliberating the allegations against the former comedian.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict at the time, telling the court that they were “deadlocked on all counts”, forcing the county judge to declare a mistrial.
Now, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter, Cosby has been ordered to be ready for trial once again, with proceedings set to begin on November 6.
Cosby was originally charged by the Montgomery County district attorney’s office with using drugs to assault Andrea Constand without her consent while she was unconscious.
The jury heard Constand’s recollection that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home back in January 2004 — charges that the comedian has always strongly denied.
Cosby’s publicist Andrew Wyatt told reporters that his client felt the result of a hung jury was a “total victory” after a verdict could not be delivered last month.
“Mr Cosby’s power is back — it’s back. It has been restored,” Wyatt said. “The jurors, they used their power to speak. So the legacy didn’t go anywhere, it has been restored.”
Cosby’s legal team argued during proceedings that racial bias and unfair media coverage influenced the jury’s perception of the alleged incident going before the judge.
More than 60 women have accused Cosby of historic sexuality impropriety dating back to the mid-1960s, but only Constand’s allegations have led to formal charges. Cosby denies all allegations.
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