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Bill Cosby attacks his trial judge – again – in new effort to get out of jail on appeal

Disgraced comedian Bill Cosby and his wife Camille slammed the judge in Cosby's sex-assault trial in the ongoing battle to appeal his conviction.

TV icon-turned-convicted sexual predator Bill Cosby, raging from his Pennsylvania prison cell, is attacking his trial judge – again – in his latest effort to get out on bail while his case is being appealed.

Cosby's team of appellate lawyers said Wednesday that they would file an application seeking Cosby's release immediately while he awaits his appeal of his conviction in April 2018 on three sexual-assault charges.

Cosby, who has been demanding he be released on bail since he was sentenced to three to 10 years in September, once again cited similar grounds, including his age (81), his health (he's legally blind), his lack of a prior criminal record and the unlikelihood of his being a danger to the community.

Video: Seth MacFarlane Jokes About Receiving Same Honor as Bill Cosby

Once again, he attacked his trial judge, Steven O'Neill, as biased against him due to a convoluted alleged conflict of interest that Cosby has bitterly complained about since O'Neill presided over his first trial in 2017.

Now his lawyers have added a new complaint: O'Neill has not yet officially explained his reasons for sentencing Cosby, as required in Pennsylvania, thus delaying the appellate court's review of his conviction and sentence.

And for good measure, Cosby released to USA TODAY a public statement through his spokesman, Andrew Wyatt, in which he accused O'Neill of "racial hatred."

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Official Statement Outlining Why Actor/Comedian Bill Cosby Filed An Application For Bail Pending Appeal. Judge Steven T. O’Neill continues to show his disgust and prejudice towards Mr. Cosby. Judge O’Neill is purposely denying Mr. Cosby the right to file his Appeal, because he has refused to issue his 1925(a) Opinion, which outlines why he felt strongly in sentencing Mr. Cosby to 3 to 10 years and felt obligated to place this 81 years old blind United States Citizen (who served his country in the United States Navy), in a level (5) maximum security prison (SCI Phoenix). The Application For Bail Pending Appeal was filed this morning in the Superior Court (First Appellate Court), which illuminates the egregious behavior of Judge Steven T. O’Neill. 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. “This judge took an oath. I Believe. To be fair and impartial, which grants him the authority to perform all of the duties detailed in the Constitution,” states Bill Cosby. “I don’t know what Constitutional rock this judge resides, because his refusal to write an opinion, reveals that he’s complicit in the corruption against me, and that he’s an accessory to the incestuous behavior that resides in Montgomery County. His dishonorable conduct makes me smile, because this judge is being exposed, and it shows that this is bigger than me, [Bill Cosby]. O’Neill now has his formula: tried, true and tested to destroy Any Black Man and/or Colored Man In America. I’m just so happy, because this guy is proving my innocence. And guess what else. America is finally getting to witness the truth” states Mr. Cosby. #FreeBillCosby #FarFromFinished

A post shared by Bill Cosby (@billcosby) on Apr 24, 2019 at 8:31am PDT

"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," the statement said.

His lawyers, Brian Perry and Kristen Weisenberger of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said in their brief that Cosby has raised "meritorious issues" in his appeal.

"This court should grant Mr. Cosby bail in light of his age, health, and high chances of success on appeal," the motion said. "Furthermore, bail is appropriate where the trail court has refused to timely issue his (sentencing opinion), prejudicing Mr. Cosby's right to a reasonably timely appeal."

Trial judges do not talk to the media.

Stacey Witalec, a spokeswoman for the court administrator's office in Montgomery County, where Cosby was convicted of a 2004 sex assault in his nearby home, said she is looking into whether O'Neill has filed a brief yet on his sentencing decision or when one is expected.

The county's district attorney, Kevin Steele, who prosecuted Cosby in two trials, doesn't comment on such motions since prosecutors don't decide on sentences.

That left the field open to Cosby and Wyatt who told USA TODAY he is the only person outside family who can visit Cosby regularly in SCI Phoenix, a maximum security prison in Collegeville, about 20 miles from Philadelphia.

Judging from his latest statement, Cosby is still raging at his fate and at his judge. All of his previous motions and demands to be released from prison have failed. He continues to push a discredited theory that O'Neill should not have been in charge of his case due to an ancient political rivalry with an important Cosby defense witness at both his trials.

"(O’Neill) continues to show his disgust and prejudice towards Mr. Cosby," the Cosby statement said. "...His refusal to write an opinion reveals that he’s complicit in the corruption against me, and that he’s an accessory to the incestuous behavior that resides in Montgomery County."

Cosby said O'Neill's "dishonorable conduct" is designed to "destroy Any Black Man and/or Colored Man In America. I’m just so happy, because this guy is proving my innocence."

After his first trial resulted in a hung jury, Cosby was convicted in 2018 of drugging and molesting his friend and Temple University protegee, Andrea Constand, during a 2004 encounter at his Montgomery County home.

Since October 2014, some five dozen women have accused Cosby of drugging and/or molesting them in encounters dating back to the mid-1960s and in multiple states, but the Constand allegation was the only criminal case brought against him.

Steele charged Cosby in December 2015, just before the state's statute of limitations was due to run out and after he was elected county district attorney following a campaign in which Cosby was an issue.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bill Cosby attacks his trial judge – again – in new effort to get out of jail on appeal