Bill Cosby's Attempt to Get Out on Bail Fails

Bill Cosby wanted to be released from prison on bail while he appeals his sex-assault conviction. On Monday, a Pennsylvania appeals court said no. The New York Times reports the Pennsylvania Superior Court did not share its reasoning behind the decision. It came just days after Cosby filed a motion with the court that argued the appeals process was being held up by his trial judge, Steven O'Neill, who had yet to issue his opinion in the case. In an accompanying statement published last Wednesday, Cosby's lawyers had this to say: "We’re asking that this scandalous judge be removed immediately, and Mr. Cosby be granted bail throughout the appeals process, because the judge's racial hatred towards Mr. Cosby clouds his better judgement to be a good steward of the bench."

Now, the AP reports those lawyers say they aren't surprised the bail motion was denied and say that the point of it was to highlight the fact they're still waiting for O'Neill's 1925(a) opinion seven months after the trial concluded—a period that isn't necessarily unusual with more involved cases. Cosby's lawyers elaborated in a statement: "We feel strongly that Judge O'Neill is delaying writing his 1925(a) Opinion, because he lacks the ability to give valid reasons on many of our appellate issues. ... We strongly feel that our Application for Bail Relief, will force this egregious judge to do the right thing, write his 1925(a) Opinion, so that Mr. Cosby can move forward with his appeal." (Cosby has reportedly called his prison experience "amazing.")