The Bill Cosby Trial Cost Montgomery County $219K

NORRISTOWN, PA — National attention descended on Norristown last month as the Bill Cosby trial and surrounding spectacle took over Montgomery County Courthouse for two weeks. That spectacle came with a hefty price tag for Montgomery County: a total of $219,000, most of which was incurred by security and juror expenses.

The case against the former comedian, accused of three counts of aggravated indecent assault, ended in a mistrial in June after the jury was deadlocked. They had deliberated for 52 hours. A retrial for Cosby's case is set for Nov. 6.

According to information released by the county, the greatest single expense of the trial was overtime pay for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, which totaled $98,600. Much of that overtime was spent keeping the jurors safe, and securing the courthouse during the tumultuous proceedings.

"We have said all along you can't put a price on justice," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Thursday. "Costs of (cases) vary, but paramount in our decision making is working to obtain justice and maintain public safety...We must follow the trail wherever it leads us and we must overcome hurdles to obtaining justice."

The next greatest expense was accommodations for the jurors, which totaled $46,000. Costs were raised significantly because jurors were from Allegheny County, near Pittsburgh, in order to avoid a perceived prejudice which the defense thought a local jury pool might have. Transporting the jurors from Allegheny County to Montgomery County cost $7,300. Feeding jurors for two weeks cost $14,000. The jury selection process cost alone $6,700, expenses show.

Roughly $14,000 was spent for detective overtime pay and court staff overtime pay, each. Security overtime pay totally $1,900.

“The difficult work and extra attention the case of the Commonwealth vs. William Cosby required was met with planning, preparation, and problem solving from Montgomery County employees across a number of departments,” Val Arkoosh, Chairwoman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said in a statement. “I want to extend my deepest gratitude for the hard work and professionalism that our county employees showed throughout the trial.”

The third category of expense was labeled "court expenses," and involved relaying an audio and video of the trial to the adjacent courtroom. That cost $16,100, the county said.

Montgomery County officials said that their 2017 budget had allotted funding specifically for overtime and trials, and those line items will be used to pay the $219,000. Officials said they did not know if these expenses would impact the formation of the 2018 budget.

The cost of the Cosby retrial, scheduled for November, will depend on its length, but the county could be looking at a similar figure.

"Justice is never served by treating a wealthy defendant any differently than an indigent defendant, in any case," Steele said.

Image via Montgomery County District Attorney's Office