Judge hints he may not allow Cosby quaalude testimony

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP):

The judge in Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial hinted yesterday that he could keep jurors from hearing the comedian's prior testimony about giving quaaludes to women before sex, a potential blow to the prosecution's plans to portray him as a serial predator.

Judge Steven O'Neill said at a pretrial hearing that he won't rule on the testimony until it's brought up at the retrial, which is scheduled to begin April 9 in suburban Philadelphia.

"This defendant is not on trial for what he said in his deposition," O'Neill said.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday as the 80-year-old Cosby faces charges he drugged and molested former Temple University athletics administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.

The quaalude testimony came from a deposition that was part of Constand's civil suit against Cosby. It was included in the first trial that ended with a hung jury and prosecutors contend it is more evidence of his prior bad acts.

Cosby admitted in the testimony he gave quaaludes to a 19-year-old before having sex in the 1970s, but his lawyers say it's irrelevant to the trial because there's no evidence he gave his accuser the drug.

"The '70s isn't relevant in this case," said defense lawyer Becky James, calling quaalude use then widespread. "It was not to assault them. It was not to make them incapacitated. It was never with the purpose or intent of having sex with unconsenting women."