Harvey Weinstein is reading about two brothers whose Hollywood careers were marred by their personal lives during his downtime in court, as jury selection in his rape and sexual assault trial continued Thursday.
Weinstein, 67, brought two books to court The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak and Hollywood Classics and what appeared to be a vintage edition of Ken Follett’s novel The Pillars of the Earth.
The former is a biography about Herman and Joseph Mankiewicz – whose Oscar-winning films included ‘Citizen Kane’ and ‘All About Eve’. One brother fell prey to gambling and alcoholism. The other rose to fame while carrying on sexual affairs with Hollywood actresses and was fired after a period of drug use.
Just 30 potential jurors from a potential pool of 120 remained at the end of day two of jury selection, a process that could take weeks. They were given questionnaires featuring 72 questions and will report back for further questioning on January 16.
The questionnaire asks, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court. They were also told the trial will last six weeks, which could weed out many parents, college students and others with pressing day-to-day obligations.
On Tuesday some said that reading Ronan Farrow’s book means they could not give Weinstein, 67, a fair trial. Pulitzer Prize winner Farrow’s book tells the story of his quest to expose Weinstein.
Another said they had a friend who had an encounter with the former Hollywood mogul.
Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse for jury selection in his sexual assault trial on Thursday
Just 30 potential jurors from a potential pool of 120 remained at the end of day two of jury selection, a process that could take weeks. They were given questionnaires featuring 72 questions and will report back for further questioning on January 16
Weinstein is reading about two brothers whose Hollywood careers were marred by their personal lives during downtime in court, as jury selection in his rape and sexual assault trial continued Thursday. He is pictured arriving at court
Harvey Weinstein is reading about two brothers whose Hollywood careers were marred by their personal lives during downtime in court, as jury selection in his rape and sexual assault trial continued Thursday. Weinstein, 67, brought The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak and Hollywood Classics to court on Monday
The first 120 potential jurors appeared the court Tuesday and were whittled down to 36 meaning there are currently 66 people advancing in the process.
Jury selection is expected to stretch on for at least two weeks, far longer than for a non-celebrity trial, with lawyers delving into each potential juror’s knowledge and opinions about the case. Twelve jurors and six alternates need to be selected.
‘The defense team is concerned about widespread media coverage of sexual assault and harassment claims against Weinstein, and of jurors prejudging the case,’ said Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans. On the other side of the case, ‘prosecutors are wary of prospective jurors who might reveal a predisposition to blame the victims, even in this age of #MeToo.’
In picking a jury, defense lawyers typically want jurors who can ‘think outside of the box’ and look skeptically at a prosecution case, while prosecutors seek people with a linear and methodical mindset, said Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a jury consultant and University of Dayton law professor.
Weinstein, 67, brought The Brothers Mankiewicz: Hope, Heartbreak and Hollywood Classics to court
For insight into prospective jurors’ thinking, lawyers have taken to scouring their public social media postings, Hoffmeister said, which is fine under court rules as long as the lawyers don’t follow or friend them or send them messages.
Weinstein, who founded his film production company with his brother Bob, has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two women in New York.
Weinstein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, said she did not advise Weinstein to bring outside reading material to court.
‘Judge Burke did,’ she said. ‘During jury selection, Mr. Weinstein has much downtime outside the presence of the jury pool. He is not reading in the courtroom.’
One Amazon critic of the Sydney Ladensohn Stern book said the brothers its about were ‘the most brilliant and charismatic men ever to ply their sometimes dubious trade in Hollywood’.
Paul Callan, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, said he did not think the book was part of Weinstein’s courtroom strategy.
‘It doesn’t strike me as a story that has a tale of innocence or redemption, which is the kind of story you would want to present to the jury if you were using this as a mechanism,’ said Callan.
Why the jury selection process will take up to two weeks and how they will be selected
Selecting the jury for the Hollywood mogul’s rape and sexual assault trial is likely to be a painstaking, weekslong process, made complicated by the high stakes, heavy publicity and public revulsion toward him.
Jury selection is expected to stretch on for at least two weeks, far longer than for a non-celebrity trial, with lawyers delving into each potential juror’s knowledge and opinions about the case. Opening statements shouldn’t be expected before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 20, the judge said.
The prospective jurors were given questionnaires asking, among other things, if they could ignore media coverage and decide the case based only on evidence heard in court. They were also told the trial will last six weeks, which could weed out many parents, college students and others with pressing day-to-day obligations.
Jury questionnaires are commonly used to identify subject areas like their knowledge of and potential links to the case or any prior experiences with law enforcement that can then allow follow-up questions back in the courtroom before selection.
Potential jurors raise their hands and explain why they can’t serve on the jury of film producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault trial
‘The defense team is concerned about widespread media coverage of sexual assault and harassment claims against Weinstein, and of jurors prejudging the case,’ said Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans. On the other side of the case, ‘prosecutors are wary of prospective jurors who might reveal a predisposition to blame the victims, even in this age of #MeToo.’
Prospective jurors were introduced as a group to Weinstein and were read a list of names that could come up at trial, including actresses Salma Hayek, Charlize Theron and Rosie Perez.
120 potential jurors appeared before the court Tuesday – 36 advanced to the next stage of the process. A further 120 appeared Wednesday with 30 being selected to continue.
New pools of prospective jurors will be summoned to court each morning in the coming days – around 120 per day will be called.
A jury summons was sent to 2,000 New Yorkers – five times the number for a typical trial.
Experts said lawyers for Weinstein and the prosecution would need to be wary of jurors who may try to mask their bias in order to serve on a headline-grabbing trial.
Some jurors may seek to use the trial as a means of advancing a personal cause, a concern in a case that has become a flashpoint for ending sexual harassment.
Weinstein in October lost a bid to move the trial to suburban Long Island or to Albany, New York state’s capital. He said intense media scrutiny made it impossible for jurors to give him a fair trial in Manhattan.
The defense asked at Monday’s hearing that the jury be sequestered, a request the judge denied.
The judge threatened to revoke Weinstein’s bail on Tuesday after he caught the defendant using his cellphone during jury selection.
Weinstein was charged with sexual assault in May 2018. When he surrendered to New York police, he carried the biography of Elia Kazan, a movie director who stirred controversy for testifying before the House of Representatives’ Un-American Activities Committee about communism in 1952.
Weinstein, who founded Miramax with his brother Robert in 1979, transformed the independent film industry with award-winning films like ‘Shakespeare in Love’ and ‘The English Patient.’
Several criminal defense attorneys said it is unusual for a defendant to bring outside reading material to a trial, especially one in which the defendant is facing such serious charges.
Defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt said he generally asks clients to carry a notepad and pen rather than a novel to jury selection so they can participate in the vetting process.
Lefcourt said reading might be a way for Weinstein to cope with anxiety during the trial, which began the same day that the Los Angeles district attorney announced new sexual assault charges against him.
‘Maybe he thinks his lawyers have it covered and rather than show any kinds of emotion, he’d rather have his head down,’ he said.
Harvey Weinstein, center, arrives to court for jury selection in his sexual assault trial on Thursday
Weinstein is charged in New York with raping one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on Haleyi in 2006. He could get life in prison if convicted. In the Los Angeles case, which will be tried later, he is accused of sexually assaulting two women on back-to-back nights in 2013
Weinstein filed a motion Wednesday to remove the judge from his rape and sexual assault trial after arguing that the justice’s comments about him texting in court reveals prejudice. He has also complained about press attention and being scrutinized for using his walker, pictured Thursday
Harvey Weinstein, center, follows his attorney Donna Rotunno, left, as they arrive at a Manhattan courthouse for jury selection
Weinstein filed a motion Wednesday to remove the judge from his rape and sexual assault trial after arguing that the justice’s comments about him texting in court reveals prejudice. He has also complained about press attention and being scrutinized for using his walker.
He also tried to ban celebrity attorney Gloria Allred – who represents some of his accusers – from the trial.
Weinstein’s lawyers also unsuccessfully tried to delay jury selection in light of the new case filed in Los Angeles on Monday, asking for a ‘cooling-off period’ to allow the publicity to subside.
But Judge Burke expressed confidence that the jurors would know that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and he pressed on.
Opening statements shouldn’t be expected before the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on January 20, the judge said.
Weinstein is charged in New York with raping one woman in a hotel room in 2013 and forcibly performing a sex act on Haleyi in 2006. He could get life in prison if convicted. In the Los Angeles case, which will be tried later, he is accused of sexually assaulting two women on back-to-back nights in 2013.
The former studio boss has said any sexual activity was consensual. Since 2017, more than 80 women, including many famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades.
The trial is expected to last at least six weeks.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW? THE CHARGES AGAINST HARVEY WEINSTEIN
Harvey Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York.
More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades but he only faces five criminal counts in New York – two counts of rape, one count of criminal sexual act and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
He faces life in prison if convicted on the most serious charge, predatory sexual assault.
One of the women Weinstein was charged with assaulting, former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, has said that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2006. Prosecutors say Weinstein raped the second woman, who has not been publicly identified, in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York. More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades but he only faces five criminal counts
Jury selection began Tuesday but finding impartial New York City jurors amid the media frenzy surrounding the Weinstein case will be a challenge for both legal teams, experts said.
Lawyers will likely question potential jurors about their knowledge and opinion of the case, their work history and whether they have been victims of sexual misconduct.
The trial is expected to last for around six weeks.
Los Angeles prosecutors also charged Weinstein Monday with sexually assaulting two women there on successive nights during Oscar week in 2013.
Lawyers for Weinstein had no immediate comment on the new charges, though he has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Weinstein faces up to 28 years in state prison if he is convicted of the charges filed in LA of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by use of force and sexual battery by restraint.
His arraignment has not yet been scheduled and prosecutors will recommend $5 million bail. Weinstein is expected to appear in court in California after his trial in New York is finished.
Here is what to expect from the trial:
WHO ARE THE ACCUSERS?
One of the women Weinstein was charged with assaulting, former production assistant Mimi Haleyi, pictured in 2017, has said that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in 2006
More than 80 women have publicly accused Weinstein, 67, of sexual misconduct, helping to fuel the #MeToo movement over the last two years. The criminal charges against him refer to just three accusers.
Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant on a Weinstein Company television show, has said that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in his Manhattan home in July 2006.
Actress Annabella Sciorra, best known for her role on HBO’s The Sopranos, has said Weinstein raped her in her Manhattan apartment in 1993.
Prosecutors have accused Weinstein of raping another woman in March 2013 in Manhattan. She has not been publicly identified.
Weinstein has said that any sexual encounters he had were consensual.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Weinstein is charged with a criminal sexual act in the first degree against Haleyi, and with rape for the 2013 allegation. He is charged with predatory sexual assault over both allegations.
Sciorra’s allegation is too old to be the basis of a separate charge, but is a crucial part of the predatory sexual assault charges, which require prosecutors to establish a pattern of serious sex crimes against multiple women.
Predatory sexual assault is the most serious charge against Weinstein, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison.
WHO WILL TESTIFY AGAINST WEINSTEIN?
Haleyi, Sciorra and the 2013 accuser are almost certain to testify in a trial that is expected to last up to eight weeks.
Prosecutors may also call three other women to testify about encounters with Weinstein, even though he is not formally charged with crimes against them. Their testimony is intended to bolster the charges by showing that Weinstein had a consistent pattern of behavior.
Prosecutors have also said that they expect to call Barbara Ziv, a professor at Temple University in Pennsylvania, to testify as an expert on the trauma resulting from sexual assault.
WHAT IS WEINSTEIN’S DEFENSE?
While criminal defendants and their lawyers typically avoid revealing their strategy before trial, Weinstein has dropped some hints.
Weinstein’s lead lawyer, Donna Rotunno, told Reuters that Weinstein had a ‘slew of witnesses ready to go.’ She has said the defense would be introducing emails and text messages to prove that Weinstein’s accusers maintained relationships with him after his alleged assaults.
His lawyers have also said they plan to call psychologist Deborah Davis, of the University of Nevada, Reno, to testify as an expert on memory, suggesting that Weinstein may try to call his accusers’ recollections into question.
Harvey Weinstein was pictured smiling as he arrived at a New York court Monday as his lawyers and a judge handle the final preparation for his trial on charges of rape and sexual assault
WHAT OTHER LEGAL RISKS DOES WEINSTEIN FACE?
Even if he is acquitted in Manhattan, Weinstein faces separate criminal charges announced on Monday by prosecutors in Los Angeles. Lawyer Rotunno declined immediate comment on those charges.
Weinstein was charged with sexually assaulting two unidentified women in 2013, said Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey. He was charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting the other.
Lacey said the timing of the charges was unrelated to the New York trial.
But there is some connection between the cases. One of the Los Angeles accusers is expected to testify in the New York case to help prosecutors establish what they say was Weinstein’s pattern of forcing himself on young actresses and women trying to break into Hollywood.
Weinstein is expected to appear in court in California after his New York trial, Lacey said.
The Hollywood mogul stumbled up the stairs as he arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday
The Hollywood mogul stumbled up the stairs as he arrived at a Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday