Cosby attorneys want documents sealed

By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN weisenn@phillynews.com Bill Cosby 's attorneys yesterday filed a motion asking a judge to issue a protective order sealing all documents obtained during the discovery process in a federal civil lawsuit filed here against Cosby by a former Temple employee. The motion also asks the judge to allow them to file documents in the "highly publicized, sensational case" under seal, thus protecting Cosby from "undue embarrassment, oppression and annoyance, and preserving his right to a fair trial. " Cosby's attorneys noted that both sides recently subpoenaed the files on the criminal investigation, which include "several salacious statements from alleged witnesses whose credibility has never been tested. " The Cosby attorneys attached 43 pages of exhibits to the motion, which included several Daily News stories and a transcript of a Daily News reporter's appearance on the Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. " Andrea Constand, 31, has accused Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting her in January 2004 at his Elkins Park, Montgomery County, mansion. She went to police a year later. In February, authorities declined to prosecute. She filed her civil suit last month. According to filings in the civil suit, 12 more women have come forward accusing Cosby of drugging and/or sexually assaulting them. In the motion, Cosby's attorneys also accused Dolores Troiani and Bebe Kivitz, who represent Constand, of "aggressively courting media coverage of the plaintiff's allegations in the national and local press. " Both sides declined to comment. *