NORRISTOWN, Pa. _ A Montgomery County judge said Thursday that he will not recuse himself from presiding over Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial, days before the high-profile retrial is set to begin.
Cosby's lawyers had sought to remove Judge Steven T. O'Neill from the case because his wife, Deborah O'Neill, works as a social worker and coordinator for the University of Pennsylvania's sexual trauma treatment and prevention team.
After hearing arguments on the issue Thursday morning, O'Neill ruled that he has no bias in the case. The judge appeared to choke back tears as he delivered his ruling aloud in the courtroom.
"She's an independent woman and she has a right to be involved in anything that she believes in," O'Neill said of his wife. "My spouse and I share the love of each other, our families, and most of all our children and grandchild. What we do not share are unified views of social, legal and political issues."
Tom Mesereau, Cosby's lead defense lawyer, said that Deborah O'Neill made a donation to Women Organized Against Rape, a group that plans to hold protests and vigils outside the courthouse during Cosby's trial in Norristown.
O'Neill said the donation was made by the department that his wife works for at the University of Pennsylvania, and insisted that "there was never any marital assets" given to the group.
"We're talking about a combination of factors that could result in a reasonable appearance of bias," Mesereau said.
Deputy District Attorney Robert Falin said the judge's wife made that donation on behalf of her department 13 months ago, and could not have known that the same group would plan vigils during Cosby's trial.
"Dr. (Deborah) O'Neill has not stated anything about this case," he said. "They are kind of trying to chain her to this vigil by degrees of separation."
O'Neill has presided over the case for more than two years, and was the judge in Cosby's first trial, which ended with a hung jury.
Pretrial hearings on other issues in the case will continue Thursday and Friday.
Cosby, 80, is charged with aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his home in Cheltenham in 2004. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in Norristown.
