NORRISTOWN >> The Montgomery County judge who presided over the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial released the identities of the jurors who deadlocked in their deliberations, but jurors will be limited in what they can speak about publicly.
“Jurors shall not disclose anything said or done in the jury room by any of their fellow jurors that may indicate his or her thoughts or opinions,” Judge Steven T. O’Neill wrote in an order issued Wednesday afternoon. “Jurors shall not disclose arguments or comments made, or votes case, by fellow jurors during deliberations.”
O’Neill indicated in court papers that the names, which were requested by various media outlets, will be provided by the county court administrator but only after the jurors are contacted by court officials and made aware of the directives contained in the court order.
The identities of the Pittsburgh area jurors were released late Wednesday afternoon.
O’Neill’s ruling came a day after lawyers for several media companies and prosecutors and defense lawyers were in court arguing over the release of the jurors’ names.
District Attorney Kevin R. Steele asked the judge to “respect the privacy of those that have served on a jury” by not releasing the jurors’ names. Steele, who immediately after a mistrial was declared on Saturday vowed to retry Cosby, argued there is a substantial probability that the rights of the parties to a fair trial will be negatively impacted by the release of the names of the jurors.
Steele argued if the press saturates the nationwide media market with stories about jury deliberations then it could make the selection of a fair and impartial jury for the retrial more difficult. Steele argued that although jurors may choose to come forward to the media of their own volition that should be their choice.
Brian J. McMonagle, Cosby’s defense lawyer, wrote a letter to the judge joining Steele in the fight to keep the jurors’ names private.
But the Philadelphia Media Network, publishers of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, sought the public release of the jurors’ names and was joined by other media outlets, including ABC Inc., CNN, The New York Times and the Washington Post.
The news outlets argued the First Amendment provides a qualified right of access to jurors’ names. Lawyers for the news outlets argued the jurors played a critical role in the case and could be questioned about their personal views on the evidence they heard or about the sequestration and jury systems.
In approving the release of the jurors’ names, the judge said he is bound by state Supreme Court decisions finding the press has a qualified First Amendment right to the names of jurors in the case.
“The names of the jurors must be released,” O’Neill wrote.
On Saturday, O’Neill declared a mistrial after the seven men and five women on the jury individually told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked “on all counts” after deliberating more than 52 hours over six days. Cosby, 79, is charged with three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in connection with allegations he drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, the former director of women’s basketball operations at Temple University, at his Cheltenham mansion in mid-January 2004.
Steele immediately informed the judge he would retry Cosby. A retrial could occur within about 120 days.
The jurors were transported back to their homes in Allegheny County on Saturday evening.
The 11-day trial was expected to come at a high cost for the county. Final cost figures for overtime for sheriff’s deputies and court employees and for the sequestration of the jury were not yet available on Tuesday, according to county officials.
