Cosby jury impasse

Photo: The Canadian Press

The jury in Bill Cosby's sexual assault case tested the patience of defence lawyers and even the judge on the fifth day of deliberations Friday as it repeatedly asked to run through testimony from the TV star, his accuser and others, struggling to break a deadlock that threatens to end the trial without a verdict.

With deliberations running about as long as the testimony of all the witnesses combined, the 79-year-old TV star's lawyer complained that jurors were seeking a replay of the entire trial.

Judge Steven O'Neill twice refused defence requests for a mistrial, declaring that jurors could talk as long as they wanted over allegations that Cosby drugged and molested a woman at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004.

But even the solicitous judge had his limits, putting his foot down late Friday afternoon when the jurors asked to hear a sliver of testimony they'd just had read back to them. The judge told them they had to rely on their collective memory.

As the panel deliberated charges that could send Cosby to prison for the rest of his life, Cosby tweeted thanks to his fans and supporters.

Dozens of women have come forward to say Cosby drugged and assaulted them, but this was the only case to result in criminal charges.

On Friday, the jury asked to review multiple pieces of evidence, including Cosby's 2006 deposition testimony about quaaludes, a now-banned party drug.

The jurors also listened to the definition of reasonable doubt, the threshold that prosecutors must cross to win a conviction, and reviewed testimony from Constand and her mother about phone conversations they had with Cosby after the encounter. 

If the panel can't break the deadlock, the judge could declare a hung jury and a mistrial. In that case, prosecutors would get four months to decide whether they want to retry Cosby or drop the charges.