Bill Cosby Team Seeks To Ban T-Shirts, Buttons, Flowers At Trial

NORRISTOWN, PA — As was the case in his first trial last June, a large number of women's rights groups, members of the public, and supporters of Bill Cosby's accusers plan to attend his trial. And and this time, the former comedian's lawyers want to go to war with them.

In a motion filed in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday, attorneys argued that items like flowers, posters, buttons, hats, pins, and other expressive props should be banned from a number of areas around the court where the jurors might see them and be "influenced."

Specifically, the motion requests the items be banned from the courtroom itself, the adjoining hallways, and any entrance to the building where jurors could be exposed.

Anyone wearing a t-shirt - which lawyers fear could hold anti-Cosby slogans - would also be banned from those areas, if Cosby's team gets their way.

Lawyers pointed to several Facebook groups where organizations supporting Cosby had made plans to make their voices heard and to be seen around the courthouse area during the upcoming trial.

One of Cosby's accusers, Lili Bernard, is planning a candelight vigil every night during the trial. Other rallies have been scheduled already for the first day of jury selection for the trial, Monday, April 2.

Last week, in a major development, O'Neill ruled that five of Cosby's former accusers can testify at the upcoming trial. The ruling marks a significant victory for the prosecution, which was only allowed the testimony of one of Cosby's prior accusers, Kelly Johnson, in the 2017 trial that ended in a deadlocked jury. The prosecution had asked the judge for 19 of Cobsy's accusers to be allowed to testify.

Pretrial hearings on matters like this motion will be discussed in court on March 29 and 30.

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