Bill Cosby's Wife Camille's Court Appearance, Judge Forcing Her to Testify in Defamation Case

Bill Cosby's wife, Camille Cosby, is being forced by a judge to testify in a defamation case against the comedian. This past Thursday (Dec. 31), the judge vetoed a motion filed by Camille to toss out a subpoena that requires her to make an appearance in a deposition. The deposition is connected to a lawsuit that seven women have brought against her husband alleging that he drugged and raped them. Camille is slated to make an appearance in court this upcoming Wednesday (Jan. 6).

The judge in question is U.S. Magistrate David Hennessey from Springfield, Massachusetts. He asserted in his ruling that the couple had not adequately proven that they were protected by Massachusetts' state martial disqualification law. He further vetoed her claims that the testimony's value was set to be outweighed by the "undue burden" that would be instigated by the deposition.

In a 12-page ruling released to Billboard, the judge states that her arguments, "do not outweigh the potential significance of Mrs. Cosby's testimony, nor has Mrs. Cosby provided any authority that they do. A lawyer for the seven women, Joseph Cammarata, additionally asserted that Camille should be cross-examined on the matter because it is thought that she had personal, "information that's relevant to the litigation in this matter."

Bill Cosby's lawyers claim that Camille doesn't possess any information pertaining to the seven women's allegations and that involving her in the deposition was, "nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to pressure the defendant in the face of subjecting his wife to the shame and embarrassment of responding to questions about his alleged infidelities and sexual misconduct."

Camille had previously asked for a protective order to restrict the subpoena as an alternative to throwing it out, which was also rejected by the judge.

Just before the new year, a warrant was issued for Bill Cosby's arrest after he was charged in a sexual assault case brought forth by former Temple employee, Andrea Constand. Montgomery County District Attorney-Elect, Kevin Steele, reopened a case brought against Cosby in 2005 by Constand, who asserts that Cosby drugged and raped her. Cosby claims that the sex was consensual, but Constand claims to be gay and in a relationship with a woman at the time of her assault.

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Bill Cosby