Michael J. Sheehan, Esq.
Criminal Defense/DUI/Personal Injury
Bill Cosby is back in the news. As you probably recall, Cosby’s sex assault case went to trial back in June 2017 and resulted in a hung jury. Shortly after the hung jury, the prosecution announced that it intended to retry Cosby. The retrial commenced this month. 
While the general allegations of the case remain the same, there is one very noteworthy difference for Cosby this time around. During the first trial, the judge precluded the prosecution from presenting any evidence from other women who claim Cosby sexually assaulted them at some point in the past. This time around, the judge has changed his mind and decided that such evidence is admissible, and he has given the prosecution permission to call five additional women who claim to have been victimized by Cosby.
This kind of evidence is called “404(b)” evidence, which is a reference to the rule that permits the admission of the evidence. The rule permits the admission of certain evidence for the limited purpose of proving motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake, or lack of accident. 
A skilled criminal defense lawyer understands that he or she must make a timely, thorough and well-reasoned objection to 404(b) evidence. If the lawyer doesn’t object, 404(b) evidence can dramatically change the evidentiary landscape of the case. Presumably, Cosby’s lawyers made such an objection and the judge overruled it. Now instead of attacking the credibility of one accuser, Cosby must attack the credibility of six accusers. A win for Cosby is not out of the question, but his case will be more difficult this time around. 
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Michael J. Sheehan, Attorney at Law | Phone: 720-381-6146 | Fax: 303-694-9370
Email: michael@sheehanlawdenver.com | Website: www.sheehanlawdenver.com