NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CNN)–The judge in the Bill Cosby trial declared a mistrial Saturday (June 17)after the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case.
The jurors — five women and seven men — were unable to come to a unanimous decision in a courtroom battle closely watched by the public as well as dozens of women who have accused Cosby of similar misconduct in the past.
Cosby faced three charges of aggravated indecent assault.
In all, jurors asked 12 questions of the court during deliberations, essentially asking to hear the evidence for a second time.
One of the questions from Friday was: “What is reasonable doubt?”
Prosecutors say Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted Andrea Constand, the former director of operations for Temple University’s women’s basketball team, at his home near Philadelphia in January 2004. Cosby pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On Thursday, jurors told the court they could not come to a unanimous decision beyond a reasonable doubt, which is required in criminal cases.
Judge Steven O’Neill asked the jury to go back into deliberations for another attempt to reach a verdict, an instruction known in Pennsylvania as the Spencer Charge. It’s a set of instructions that asks jurors to re-examine their own views and opinions, and there is no limit to how many times a judge can issue it.
