Accusing his trial judge of unreasonable delays, conflicts of interest and racial bias, comedian and convicted felon Bill Cosby is again seeking bail while he appeals his conviction.
Attorneys for the 81-year-old filed an application on Wednesday for Cosby to be let out of prison pending appeal in the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, asking for the higher court to take up Cosby’s bail request instead of the trial court, as is typical procedure.
(MORE: Bill Cosby: A timeline of his fall from 'America's Dad' to a 'sexually violent predator')The request for higher court consideration comes as Cosby’s attorneys claim his trial judge, Montgomery County Judge Steven O’Neill, had a conflict of interest against a witness for Cosby’s defense and that O’Neill has “unduly delayed” Cosby’s appeal.
The attorneys claim 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 Castor originally declined to prosecute Cosby back in 2005. O’Neill and Castor had run against each other for Montgomery County district attorney in 1999.
The application also argues that Cosby is not a danger to the community because of his advanced age and blindness.
On social media, Cosby has further claimed that O’Neill holds a “racial hatred” against him, however, his attorneys do not make that argument in the application.
(MORE: Everything you need to know about Bill Cosby's sentencing this week)“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 toward Mr. Cosby, clouds his better judgement to be a good steward of the bench,” a statement released on Cosby’s Instagram said.
O’Neill has overseen Cosby’s case for more than three years, presiding over two trials. The first ended in a mistrial, while the second found Cosby guilty on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for an encounter with Andrea Constand, a former Temple University women’s basketball coach.
Constand claimed Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 2004.
Cosby was sentenced to three to 10 years in prison in September and has been serving his time at SCI Phoenix, a maximum-security state correctional facility located about 25 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
In February, Cosby’s spokesman Andrew Wyatt revealed that Cosby has refused to undergo mandatory sex offender counseling as part of his sexually violent predator classification. Wyatt said Cosby has “no remorse” and maintains his innocence.