No foreign travel for Cosby
Cosby has been to court for his arraignment.
Judge Elizabeth McHugh ordered him to surrender his passport and to avoid contact with Ms. Constand.
Judge McHugh concluded the proceeding after about 15 minutes by saying, “Good luck to you, sir.” He replied, “Thank you.” He will remain free on bail of $1 million.
Mr. Cosby then headed to the Cheltenham Township Police Department to be fingerprinted and to have a photographs taken. A small gathering of people outside shouted, “You’re a monster” and “Shame on you” as he walked into the station. He said nothing.
I’m wondering if this will play out the way the OJ Simpson case did. The other day at the local branch library I happened to see a shiny new copy of Jeffrey Toobin’s book on the Simpson case and decided to read it. It brings it back…the disgust of watching the defense turn it into a (parody) “civil rights” case, while the domestic violence aspect just slipped away. The disgust of watching that actually succeed.
My guess? I don’t think it will. Cosby’s defenders, if he has any, are keeping a very low profile.
There was no Larry Wilmore show in 1994.
” . . .the disgust of watching the defense turn it into a (parody) “civil rights” case, while the domestic violence aspect just slipped away”. Yes. This. My feelings at the time exactly. Intersectionalism, for too many, only seems to matter when it’s women who are being shouted at.
I certainly hope that something comes of this. My cynical read of it all is that the criminal case was brought against Cosby in a hasty fashion in order to get it filed before the statute of limitations ran out so that they could bring a case at all, which could lead to a hasty trial and missteps on the part of the prosecutor—in much the same way that things proceeded against OJ.
If nothing else comes of Cosby’s crimes and the associated publicity, I hope that removing statutes of limitation on rape becomes a thing. Of course I hope that they find grounds to convict him and to give his victims some consolation, but we also need to get rid of these silly limitations on prosecution of what is a violent and destructive crime.
(Note: I don’t have to say “alleged” victims, and I don’t have to “assume innocence before guilt”, in case anyone immediately pipes up to say either one of those things. I’m speaking as a part of the court of public opinion wherein we don’t have to assuage tender sensibilities with weasel words, and”innocence” is only assumed in the trial itself, never outside of the judicial system.)
Simpson’s blood was at the murder scene, the victim’s blood was on his clothing.
Case closed.
In many ways, it was the prosecution inflating the case into Public Entertainment that set the disaster in motion. Locating the trial for the convenience of the media, not normal assignment. Loading the jury with black female jurors on the bizarre assumption that they’d be more likely to convict a black abuser of a white woman. Etc. etc.
I’m just recalling points that Vincent Bugliosi advanced in his book about the Simpson fiasco.