Bill Cosby Update: Comedian's Bail Plea Rejected, To Remain Jailed

A Pennsylvania appeals court Monday denied Bill Cosby’s request to get out of prison on bail while he appeals his sexual assault conviction. Cosby filed the application claiming that the judge who sentenced him showed “racial hatred” toward him.

The Pennsylvania superior court gave no explanation for its decision, the New York Times reported. In his appeal, Cosby said Judge Steven T. O’Neill was biased while handing him three to 10 years behind bars and was delaying his appeal.

“We expected the Superior Court to deny Mr. Cosby the right to bail,” Cosby's lawyer Andrew Wyatt said in a statement, adding that the “primary objective” of the bail application was to list Cosby’s grievances against the Montgomery County judge. His legal team also said they wanted to pressure judge O’Neill to file an opinion on his sentencing decision that Cosby needs to “move forward with his appeal.”

“We strongly feel that our Application for Bail Relief will force this egregious judge to do the right thing (and) write his (opinion),” Wyatt said.

The 81-year-old is serving his time in a maximum-security state prison in Pennsylvania for the drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand. In the last few years, more than 50 women accused Cosby of sexual misconduct. However, the actor denied all allegations.

Last week, Cosby's lawyers claimed that O’Neill had a “longstanding personal and political feud” with former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor. Cosby’s defense considers Castor a key witness since he originally declined to prosecute Cosby back in 2005.

“I don’t know what Constitutional rock this judge resides, because his refusal to write an opinion, reveals that he’s complicit in the corruption against me, and that he’s an accessory to the incestuous behavior that resides in Montgomery County," Cosby wrote in his appeal. “His dishonorable conduct makes me smile, because this judge is being exposed, and it shows that this is bigger than me, [Bill Cosby]. O’Neill now has his formula: tried, true and tested to destroy Any Black Man and/or Colored Man In America. I’m just so happy, because this guy is proving my innocence. And guess what else. America is finally getting to witness the truth.”

Meanwhile, Cosby also filed a lawsuit against his defense law firm, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, for almost $9 million in legal fees that he says he doesn’t owe. Cosby claimed the law firm took advantage of his blindness as he could not read or understand the documents.

Cosby’s blindness was revealed just days before he went on trial in 2018. The comedian appeared in court with a cane and the assistance of an aide.

The comedian also has another case pending with model Chloe Goins, which he is looking to have dismissed, claiming the statute of limitations has run out. Goins sued Cosby in 2016 alleging he slipped her a date rape drug when she met the comedian at the Playboy Mansion in 2008.