The current Bill Cosby sexual assault trial is an ugly, bitter battle, full of accusations of bias, conflicting accounts, and harrowing testimony from women who say the comedy legend drugged and assaulted them. But as as legal ordeals go, at least it’s proving to be a briskly moving one: Having made its case—including evidence from sexual assault experts, Cosby’s own admissions that he gave Quaaludes to women he had sex with, and testimony from Kelly Johnson and Andrea Constand, two of the many women who’ve accused the former TV star of assault—the prosecution rested this afternoon, just a week after the trial began. Proceedings will now pause for the weekend, with Cosby’s defense set to mount its own argument next week.
Cosby’s team made a preemptive attack in that direction earlier today, attempting to get the case thrown out due to “bias” on the part of the state’s expert witness. Cosby’s attorney, Brian McMonagle, questioned Dr. Veronique Valliere about Facebook messages she made, apparently celebrating the fact that Cosby would be taken to trial. Although Valliere admitted to writing them, the judge ultimately refused the request for a dismissal.
It’s not clear yet what forms the Cosby defense will take; most notably, Deadline reports that it’s looking possible that the man himself might take the stand in his own defense. The comedian contends that his relationship with Constand was consensual, and that the broken Benadryl tablets he admits to giving her on the night she says the assault took place were only intended to help her sleep.
The defense’s case is expected to wrap up some time next week.