SUNDAY, JUNE 4, 2017

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Case has problems

Cosby
FROM PAGE 1
his Cheltenham, Pa., man-
sion with Andrea Constand,
a former Temple University
basketball coach, in which
he allegedly initiated sex-
ual contact after giving her
wine and a pill.
The outcome could de-
termine whether the enter-
tainer goes to prison for up
to 10 years.
More than just a fall-
from-grace tale, the felony
trial will serve as a flash
point for a host of charged
topics celebrity, criminal-
ity, race, gender and power,
all intersecting in a way
likely to evoke another, fa-
miliar courtroom drama.
When you put someone
who was once so highly es-
teemed together with all
these issues, it doesnt feel
like most cases, said David
Rudovsky, a law professor at
the University of Pennsylva-
nia and a defense attorney
specializing in civil rights.
It feels like O.J. Simpson.
Key questions
As with that news extrav-
aganza, this trial will ad-
dress questions both socio-
logical and legal: Is Cosby a
successful entertainer vic-
timized by money-hungry
plaintiffs and a mob of out-
raged Twitter users, as he
and his lawyers will seek to
persuade? Or is he a lecher-
ous symbol of male privi-
lege, someone who for years
leveraged his reputation as
a beloved comedian and sit-
com dad to assault women
and cover his tracks?
There may be no titanic
Johnnie Cochran-Mar-
cia Clark face-off await-
ing in the Norristown, Pa.,
courthouse presided over
by Judge Steven T. ONeill.
But the attorney antagonists
will be a study in contrasts.
On one side is Kevin
Steele, the physically im-
posing Montgomery County
district attorney, whose ap-
proach might be described
as bureaucratic dryness. A
longtime presence in the
suburban courthouse, the
prosecutor in pretrial hear-
ings has managed repeat-
edly to turn the cases most
salacious details into staid
legal language.
Opposite him, lead Cosby
attorney Brian McMonagle
cuts a different figure. A
compact Philadelphia law-
yer with a flair for theatrics,
McMonagle has defended a
church figure enmeshed in
a sex scandal and a future
NBA star. At earlier Cosby
hearings, he often embraced
a showmans gestures; a wit-
ness-exclusion argument
had him passionately invok-
ing Robert Bolts conscience
play A Man for All Seasons.
Focus on accuser
Both sides will focus on
Constand, who, so far, dur-
ing more than a year of le-
gal hearings, has not ap-
peared in the courtroom.
In the coming days, Con-
stand, who is white, will fi-
nally testify about the night
Cosby invited her to his
home and, she says, pene-
trated her with his fingers
without her consent tes-
timony that could determine
whether Cosby goes to jail.
For the prosecution, the
key is having Constand be
rock solid, said David Har-
ris, a professor at the Uni-
versity of Pittsburgh and for-
mer attorney specializing in
race and criminal justice.
And the defense is going to
want the jury to look hard
at why it took her a year to
come forward.
The issue of sexual as-
sault has become the sub-
ject of much wider pub-
lic debate since the accusa-
tions against Cosby started
2 1/2 years ago, thanks to a
flood of news about former
Fox News host Bill OReilly
and President Trump, whose
leering and predatory re-
marks on an Access Holly-
wood tape sparked interna-
tional outcry.
Culturally, Cosbys unrav-
eling began with a routine
at a Philadelphia club in Oc-
tober 2014, when comedian
Hannibal Buress took on the
long-standing but little-pub-
licized accusations against
his fellow entertainer.
Yeah, but you rape
women, Bill Cosby, so turn
the crazy down a couple
notches, Buress said.
The routine went viral.
Suddenly, allegations that
had been floating around for
years went mainstream, and
dozens of women, nearly all
of whose claims had passed
the statute of limitations,
came forward with accounts
of alleged assaults.
they go after her too hard, I see a lot of similarities
the jury will see her as vic- between O.J. and Cosby, in
Legally, it started in De- timized again and it will how theyre being discarded
cember 2015, when a newly backfire, Rudovsky said. when weve run out of use
elected Steele, having been for them, said Todd Boyd,
elected on a platform prom- Race role a professor of race and pop-
ising to prosecute Cosby, ini- Celebrity will be an X fac- ular culture at USC.
tiated charges only days be- tor too. The defense has sug-
fore a statute of limitations gested it will make Cosbys Will he testify?
on Constands allegations celebrity and wealth an is- The issue of race is hardly
was set to expire. sue, citing the many civil straightforward in the Cosby
Since then, the proceed- suits brought against him trial. Not least among the
ings have been winding their including one filed by Con- complexities: Prior Alleged
way toward Mondays trial, stand, in which she received Victim Six identifies as Af-
with two key victories for the an undisclosed settlement rican American, potentially
prosecution along the way. as the primary motiva- negating attempts to say
One was a ruling from tion for initiating the alle- Cosby is being targeted due
ONeill earlier this year al- gations. But this could have to the color of his skin.
lowing an additional accuser unintended consequences: Representing that wit-
to testify against Cosby un- In the current anti-elitist ness is Gloria Allred, the
der Pennsylvanias so-called climate, can a millionaire outspoken Southern Califor-
Prior Bad Acts clause. (The icon really be portrayed as nia lawyer who hovers over
prosecution had sought 13 a victim? the Cosby case. She serves
such witnesses). Identified The other question: as attorney for nearly three
as Prior Alleged Victim Six, What role will race play? In dozen of the 60 accusers
the woman said she visited the Smerconish interview, some in civil suits whove
Cosby at his bungalow at the Cosby intimated he believed stepped forward to accuse
Hotel Bel-Air in 1996, when racism was a reason for his Cosby in the press.
he allegedly gave her a pill prosecution. I just truly be- These two women who
and violated her. lieve that some of it may very are testifying are very
The judge also decided to well be that, he said. brave. And they speak for
admit deposition testimony Yet overplaying that issue many other women, who
from a Constand civil suit with a jury that includes have never had their day in
more than a decade ago in only two African Americans court, Allred said. What
which Cosby admits to buy- could also backfire. do I expect? I expected the
ing Quaaludes in order to Race in a trial is a hand unexpected.
have sex with women. grenade, said Harris. And The biggest of those sur-
But the prosecutions case when a hand grenade blows prises could come with
contains problems, nonethe- up, you dont know where all Cosby himself. He told Smer-
less. For starters, there is no the fragments will go. conish he wouldnt testify.
physical evidence. And in Nonetheless, the issue of But he could change his
the year during which Con- race is undoubtedly one of mind, depending on how
stand didnt report the inci- the lenses through which the trial is unfolding.
dent, she maintained inter- the trial will be viewed. And We have to remember
mittent contact with Cosby. while the charges against that Cosby is a beloved en-
The defense will look to Simpson and Cosby are dif- tertainer, a performer first
exploit those issues, and do ferent, their status as cel- and foremost, Harris said.
anything possible to chal- ebrated black men facing He could be more convinc-
lenge Constands credibility very public trials has invited ing to the jury than your
without going too far. If inevitable comparisons. typical witness.

Rent
FROM PAGE 1
a gym and a yoga center,
among other amenities. The
retail space on the ground
floor near Tamal Vista Bou-
levard and Wornum Drive
will soon become Andys
Market, a grocery store and
cafe.
Eighteen units will be of-
fered at a below-market rate
determined by the U.S. De-
partment of Housing and
Urban Development, or
HUD.
That rent requires a sub-
sidy agreement based on the
about 10 to 15 percent over- buron and the Preserve atbogged down in delays, to this wonderful town that
fair market rate, said Ed Ca-
priced, in my professional Marin, a luxury complex Mayor Diane Furst said she is highly desirable.
brera, regional public affairs
opinion, said Matt Prandi with bayside views in East
is happy to see the project The leasing office is open
officer for HUD. Borries, vice president of Corte Madera. is nearing an end and she is for tours Monday through
The tenant would pay athe San Rafael-based Prandi Serenity is advertising a
ready to welcome new resi- Sunday for market-rate
predetermined percentage Property Management. one-bedroom from $2,850 dents to Corte Madera. apartments. For more in-
of the household income for A one-bedroom for to $3,350. Similarly, a one-The construction team formation, call 415-675-
rent. A HUD-issued subsidy
$3,150 is similar to San bedroom apartment at the has worked very hard to- 1463 or visit tamridgema-
would pay for the difference,
Francisco, but its not in San Cove is advertised to start at
ward completion and Im rin.com.
he said. Francisco and youve got the $2,995, whereas a two-bed-
very pleased that theyve Applications for below-
Fair-market rates in bridge and toll to pay if you room at the Preserve starts
been able to meet their goal market rate (BMR) homes
Marin County are $2,411 for
work there, he said. at $4,295. to finish in early summer, begin June 14 and are open
a one-bedroom, $3,018 for He said theyre likely It looks like they took
she said. through July 12. There is a
a two-bedroom and $3,927 charging that much because the average so theyve Likewise, Chase said, we BMR open house scheduled
for a three-bedroom apart-
theyre promoting these as done their research on that,
are pleased to finally have from 4 to 7 p.m. on June 22
ment. brand-new constructions. Borries said. hit this milestone and be and another from 10 a.m. to
He compared Tam Ridge able to open the property 2 p.m. on July 10. For infor-
Rents overpriced? to other apartment build- Many delays and start leasing. mation about the BMR pro-
The rates at Tam Ridge ings such as Serenity at After a rough start She said, this is an op- gram, email tamridgebmr@
Residences appear to be Larkspur, the Cove at Ti- and construction process portunity for people to come greystar.com.