PHILADELPHIA _ A Montgomery County, Pa., judge has ordered a hearing for arguments on Bill Cosby's request to move his trial to another county.
In an order Tuesday, Judge Steven T. O'Neill said Cosby must appear at the Feb. 27 hearing on the request for a change of venue.
Cosby's legal team claims he cannot receive a fair trial in Montgomery County, where allegations against him became a campaign issue in the 2015 race for district attorney.
District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said in a court filing last month that he would not object to selecting a jury from another county, but said Cosby should not get to move the trial from Norristown or select which county is used as a juror pool.
Cosby, 79, is charged with aggravated indecent assault for allegedly drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his Cheltenham mansion in 2004. His trial is tentatively scheduled for June 5, but the judge has indicated that he would like to hold it earlier.
Another key pretrial issue is still not settled. O'Neill has yet to rule on prosecutors' motion to have 13 other women who have accused Cosby of sexual misconduct testify at his trial. If permitted, their testimony would change the entertainer's trial from a single he-said, she-said case to an examination of alleged sexual assaults spanning decades.
