Bill Cosby, accompanied by Andrew Wyatt, departs after a pretrial hearing in Cosby's sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown on Aug. 22, 2017. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP

Opening arguments in Bill Cosby's criminal retrial are set to begin Monday morning in Montgomery County, marking yet another milestone in the 14-year timeline of the case.

The charges against the comedian are the same—he faces three counts of aggravated indecent assault, for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. And the presiding judge, too, is consistent, despite the defense's recent attempt to have Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven T. O'Neill recuse from the case.

But a number of questions remain unanswered in a retrial that is shaping up to be very different from the first time around.

How Will the Lawyering Differ?

Cosby's legal team at his first trial was led by Brian McMonagle, a Philadelphia criminal defense lawyer not unfamiliar with the Montgomery County court or high-profile Pennsylvania defendants, and Angela Agrusa, a civil litigator from California, who has represented Cosby in other cases.

But Cosby reworked his entire legal team ahead of the retrial.

Leading the defense is Tom Mesereau, a California defense attorney best known for defending Michael Jackson in a 2005 trial over alleged child molestation. Jackson was acquitted.

Also representing Cosby are Nevada defense lawyer and former prosecutor Kathleen Bliss; California lawyer Becky James of Greenberg Gross, who has represented Cosby in separate civil litigation; and local counsel Lane Vines of Berger & Montague, a class action and securities litigator based in Philadelphia.

On his own law firm website, Mesereau described himself as an “unconventional, unpredictable trial lawyer.”

Cosby's new team has already taken a different path from McMonagle and Agrusa in the motions they have filed. While the previous defense team contended that Cosby could not get a fair trial with a jury from Montgomery County, eventually getting a jury brought in from Pittsburgh, Cosby's new representation has decided not to raise that issue.

Mesereau, Bliss, James and Vines have also brought allegations against the judge and prosecutors in the case that did not arise before.

In a motion to dismiss for prosecutorial misconduct, they alleged that the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office met with a potential witness, Marguerite Jackson, and did not provide notes from the meeting. The motion was ultimately denied, and the DA's office has denied any wrongdoing.

Cosby's new legal team also argued that O'Neill, who oversaw the first trial as well, should recuse himself from the case because his wife, a social worker, researches and speaks on the topic of acquaintance rape, and has donated to an activist organization aimed at heightening awareness of violence against women.

O'Neill denied the motion to recuse, and is set to preside over the trial.

What Will the New Witnesses Say?

Even before Cosby was criminally charged in 2015, dozens of women had begun speaking out about their own allegations of sexual assault by the comedian. In his first trial, O'Neill allowed just one of those women to testify.

This time, he's allowing five.

One of those women is Janice Dickinson, whose civil litigation against Cosby in California has risen to the appellate level. Like some of his other accusers, Dickinson has alleged that Cosby sexually assaulted her, and defamed her by denying her allegations publicly.

Cosby sought to appeal the order allowing five accusers (besides Constand) to testify. But the Pennsylvania Superior Court denied his petition for review.

The defense also may be able to present testimony from a witness who was not called at the first trial. O'Neill has ruled without prejudice that the defense may call Jackson, who, the defense contends, will testify that Constand previously spoke to her about fabricating a sexual assault claim.

McMonagle sought to call Jackson at the first trial, but O'Neill ruled that her testimony was inadmissible.

Another piece of evidence the jury will be able to consider this time is the civil settlement between Constand and Cosby, which was reached in 2006. O'Neill said certain facts about the settlement, including the monetary amount, can be admitted at retrial.

While only two of Cosby's accusers (including Constand) were allowed to testify at the first trial, several others appeared in the courtroom each day of the trial last June. They marked themselves with buttons that said “We Stand in Truth.”

“Their stated purpose was to show 'solidarity' for the complaining witness, Andrea Constand,” Cosby's lawyers said in a filing, asking O'Neill to prohibit the buttons and other conduct “that could potentially influence the jury.”

O'Neill has done so, making an amendment to a decorum order governing public conduct at the trial. People in attendance may not wear or display “anything that would demonstrate support for, or opposition to, either side of the proceedings,” the order said.

Will a Montco Jury Reach a Verdict?

The jury bused in from Pittsburgh for Cosby's first trial was ultimately unable to agree on whether he was guilty or not, leading to the mistrial declared in June.

It took three full days to select the Montgomery County jury for Cosby's second trial, not including six alternates who will also be expected to take in the proceedings. According to news reports, the 12-member jury comprises seven men and five women, 10 white and two black. The Associated Press noted that they have the same racial and gender demographics as the jury from Pittsburgh last year.

But last year's jury convened months before the #MeToo movement took hold in the United States and internationally, leading to the revelation and public downfall of many prominent men who were accused of sexual misconduct.

“Your jury pool is now educated,” Gina Maisto Smith of Cozen O'Connor, who chairs a practice group fo­cused on institutional response to sexual misconduct, told Legal affiliate The National Law Journal in a recent interview.

“Your jury pool is now saturated with the discussion,” Smith said, “more in tune, aware, open to understanding and hearing about the psychological journey and impact of a sexual assault on an individual when the alleged perpetrator is a person who the individual knows and cares for.”

Cosby's lawyers have said it's unfair to retry Cosby now, given the change in climate. They argued in a motion to dismiss that “the commonwealth now gets a second bite at the apple, with Mr. Cosby's ability to obtain a fair trial diminishing, to the extent it even exists.” The motion cited allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein, and said Cosby is facing his retrial in an “increasingly hostile” climate.

But, needless to say, O'Neill denied that motion, and the case is going to trial again.