NORRISTOWN, Pa. _ From the moment sexual assault charges were filed against Bill Cosby in December, the case became a touchstone for the dozens of other instances in which women say they were attacked by the entertainer.
On Wednesday, with Cosby present, the issue of how to view those alleged victims exploded in court, as prosecutors and defense attorneys argued about how, when and whether many of those women should testify.
"This is another attempt to intimidate" victims, said the prosecutor, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele.
He was referring to the defense's decision to identify 13 purported Cosby victims whom Steele hopes to call as witnesses in the case involving the comedian and former Temple University employee Andrea Constand _ and suggested the defense aimed to demonize the women or even scare them into not testifying.
"This is all (about) trying to get at people," Steele said.
A moment later, the lead defense lawyer, Brian McMonagle, responded with an equally pointed set of comments in defense of Cosby.
"This is a crucial time in this courthouse and criminal justice as a whole," he said, his voice rising. "People (once) had the presumption of innocence. But the pendulum has swung. I've never seen the pendulum swing so far. We started with the rape shield law to introduce evidence of accusers ... and now we're actually debating whether we can bring in 13 people who have nothing to do with Andrea Constand?"
At legal issue is whether the women can testify about their interactions with Cosby because, together, their stories form a pattern of behavior that reinforces the charges against the entertainer.
Emotionally, however, there is more at stake.
Many of the women who've come forward have pinned their hopes on the Constand case, in which Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault over a 2004 incident in which he had sexual contact with Constand at his Pennsylvania home. Because nearly all their cases have exceeded the statue of limitations, they say, they hope this case can bring them vindication.
McMonagle on Wednesday said he was suspicious of the other alleged victims because 10 of the 13 called to testify were represented by one lawyer, Gloria Allred. He suggested the women were on a witch hunt for his client, egged on by the outspoken attorney.
"I'd like you to find out what's going on here," McMonagle said, addressing the judge. "What might be wrong in Denmark."
Sitting in the back of the courtroom, Allred stirred, then held an impromptu news conference outside.
"It's not the first time I've been attacked by the defense," Allred said. "I guess Mr. McMonagle is very concerned that these witnesses have representation. (He's) going to have put on their big-boy pants and deal with it."
The judge in the case, Steven T. O'Neill, will not rule until next month whether the 13 women can testify. But on Wednesday he set up a road map in which McMonagle will present a plan for O'Neill to interview the women in chambers and, if O'Neill agrees, talk to them before making a ruling.
The decision is also being closely watched by victims' rights advocates, some of whom were in the courtroom Wednesday.
O'Neill will base his ruling on whether these women's stories indeed attest to a specific pattern and also whether their testimony would prejudice the jury.
The prosecution's decision to pursue them is a bold stroke, and legal experts believe several outcomes are possible. One option is that the judge will whittle down the number that can testify. Another is that all of them will be excluded.
The session Wednesday in this suburb north of Philadelphia concluded a two-day set of hearings in which lawyers for Cosby have attempted to get the charges dismissed _ or, barring that, the evidence restricted.
Defense attorneys this week also pleaded for the suppression of evidence gathered from a civil lawsuit in which Cosby admitted to buying drugs to have sex with women. They argued that their client testified in that case only because he thought he wouldn't be prosecuted criminally.
Cosby's lawyers are also seeking to dismiss the case entirely on the premise that, by waiting 11 years to file charges, a key witness has died and Cosby has lost much of his eyesight, impeding a fair trial.
"He is physically impaired," attorney Angela Agrusa said, as Cosby sat nearby with a walking stick at his side. "We can't test his memory because he can't see," she said, noting that it would hamper Cosby's ability to counter evidence against him.
O'Neill, sounding skeptical, said equating fading vision with memory loss was "a big leap."
Deputy District Attorney Robert Falin countered Agrusa, saying the diagnosis was unconvincing. It's "something you get when you walk out of LensCrafters ... . Is he really saying that he can't see a photo if it's held 6 inches from his face?"
Dressed in a green tweed suit and often led by the arm of an assistant, Cosby stood outside the courthouse with his attorneys for a news conference. He didn't say much, but did give a small smile when a reporter asked how he was and then a "thank you" when someone told him he looked good.
