Citing faulty jury instructions, a federal appeals panel late yesterday upset the 1997 extortion conviction of Autumn Jackson for seeking $40 million from Bill Cosby to keep quiet her claim that she is the popular entertainer’s illegitimate daughter.
The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit panel ordered a new trial for Ms. Jackson and two co-defendants after finding the trial judge mistakenly failed to tell jurors that an “extortion” conviction requires proof of “wrongful” demands.
