A jury has been selected for Harvey Weinstein’s second criminal trial, taking place in Los Angeles.
The selection began on 10 October and lasted for two weeks, as planned. Opening arguments are scheduled for 24 October.
This trial stems from a series of rape and sexual assault allegations against the former producer.
Here is everything you need to know about Weinstein’s second criminal trial:
What has happened during jury selection?
Nine men and three women have been selected as jurors for Weinstein’s LA trial, according to The Associated Press.
Ten alternate jurors will also be picked and will be tasked with stepping in should any of the jurors from the main group be dismissed during the proceedings.
Per The AP, the selected jurors were asked “few questions” and appear to range in age from 40 to 70. One man looks younger, and a few jurors appear older. Two of the three women are “older”, the news agency said, while the third looks to be around 30.
One of the three female jurors described herself as “on the fence” about the #MeToo movement and stated: “I believe most women but not necessarily all.”
Another, described by The AP as an older man, says he has “a great deal of respect for both sides of the table and our system of justice.” His own daughter is an attorney.
During the proceedings, the man doubted whether he could render a guilty verdict in a sexual assault case in the absence of DNA evidence. (There is no DNA evidence in the present case.)
“It’s kind of an ambiguous question,” he said, per The AP. “It all depends on the type of assault.”
Another man said he wasn’t worried about the reaction of his loved ones and co-workers should he return a not guilty verdict, and should they learn about it.
According to BuzzFeed, at least five potential jurors said during jury selection they had never heard of the #MeToo movement.
Where is Weinstein?
Weinstein was in July 2021 extradited from New York, where he was serving a prison sentence following a criminal conviction in 2020, to a different prison in Los Angeles.
According to Reuters, he has been seen during jury selection seated in a wheelchair.
Why is Weinstein facing a second trial?
Weinstein was indicted on criminal charges in two different states: New York and California. These are two different jurisdictions, hence the two trials.
The New York trial took place in 2020 and ended with Weinstein’s conviction on two charges. Charges were filed in Los Angeles just as the New York proceedings were getting underway. After some delays, Weinstein has now been extradited to Los Angeles, where he is facing trial on the California charges.
What happened during the first trial?
Weinstein’s first criminal trial began in New York in January of 2020. After weeks of testimony, the jury found Weinstein guilty of third-degree rape and of a criminal sex act. The jury acquitted him on charges of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison and has been serving that sentence since. In August this year, New York’s highest court (the Court of Appeals) agreed to hear an appeal by Weinstein, who has maintained his innocence and denied all allegations against him.
The Los Angeles trial is happening independently of the New York case and its pending appeal.
What are the allegations against him and who is expected to testify?
In Los Angeles, Weinstein is facing 11 counts of rape and sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Mel Gibson could testify in the trial. Prosecutors have said the actor is a friend of one of Weinstein’s accusers.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench ruled that Gibson can testify about what the woman, who has not been publicly identified, told Gibson about Weinstein.
Prosecutors allege that Weinstein followed the woman into a bathroom, naked, after getting a massage from the woman in 2010 at a hotel in Beverly Hills, and masturbated. Weinstein has denied this and all other allegations of non-consensual sexual activity, and has pleaded not guilty.
Weinstein’s defence team argued against Gibson testifying, but the judge has for now allowed it, although she may change her decision depending on the alleged victim’s own testimony.
Additionally, five women who allege Weinstein abused them are expected to testify. Four of them will do so anonymously. The fifth woman, who agreed to be named by The Associated Press through her attorney, is documentary filmmaker and actor Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is married to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap,” Newsom’s attorney Elizabeth Fegan told The AP in a statement. “She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women.”
In October 2017, after The New York Times and The New Yorker published extensive reports of the allegations against Weinstein, Jennifer Siebel Newsom wrote in The Huffington Post: “Based on my years in the industry and unfortunately, my own personal experience with Harvey Weinstein, I can tell you that I believe every single word that was written in the extremely disturbing, but not all that shocking, New York Times piece published yesterday.
“Not all that shocking because very similar things happened to me. I was naive, new to the industry, and didn’t know how to deal with his aggressive advances ― work invitations with a friend late-night at The Toronto Film Festival, and later an invitation to meet with him about a role in The Peninsula Hotel, where staff were present and then all of a sudden disappeared like clockwork, leaving me alone with this extremely powerful and intimidating Hollywood legend.”
Additional reporting by The Associated Press and Reuters
