Harvey Weinstein jury returns for second day deliberations after asking for blueprints of his apartment and a ‘red flag list’ of accusers he sent to his investigator
- Harvey Weinstein returned to court in New York on Wednesday as the jury begins its second day of deliberations in his rape trial
- He has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013
- During their deliberations on Tuesday, the jury asked to see evidence including a ‘red flag list’ of accusers that Weinstein sent his private investigation
- They also asked to see a blueprint of Weinstein’s apartment where he is accused of forcibly performing oral sex on Haleyi
- Jurors will spend six hours a day for as long as it takes to reach a verdict on the five sex crimes charges against Weinstein
The Harvey Weinstein jury are returning for a second day of deliberations in his New York rape trial after asking for additional evidence and clarifications on charges.
Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan court on Wednesday as the jury of seven men and five women continue to weigh the case that could send the disgraced Hollywood producer to prison for the rest of his life.
The 67-year-old was joined by his lead defense lawyer Donna Rotunno as she donned a $3,000 Balmain leather blazer, Gucci scarf and $1,400 Louis Vuitton bag.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
During their deliberations on Tuesday, the jury asked to see evidence including an email Weinstein sent to his private investigation listing certain accusers he feared would come forward as ‘red flags’.
Harvey Weinstein arrived at the Manhattan court on Wednesday as the jury continue to weigh the case that could send the disgraced Hollywood producer to prison for the rest of his life
They also asked to see a blueprint of Weinstein’s apartment where he is accused of forcibly performing oral sex on Haleyi.
The jury sought clarification for the legal definition of terms like consent and forcible compulsion.
Jurors will spend six hours a day for as long as it takes to reach a verdict on the five sex crimes charges against Weinstein.
In total, the ex-movie mogul is facing five charges: First degree and third degree rape for Mann and a criminal sexual act for Haleyi’s forced oral sex allegation. He is also charged with predatory sexual assault for both women.
The most serious charge, predatory sexual assault, requires jurors to decide two things: If he raped Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra in the mid-1990s and if he committed one of the charged acts.
Sciorra testified at trial about Weinstein allegedly raping her in her Manhattan apartment. Her testimony was a crucial for prosecutors to prove predatory sex assault and establish a pattern of serious sex crimes. Her accusation is too old to be the basis for criminal charges on its own.
With the way the verdict form is designed, jurors will likely be spending a lot of time weighing Sciorra’s rape allegations, which could act as an aggravating factor to support a predatory sexual assault charge that carries a potential life sentence.
The 67-year-old has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013
The deliberations came after Judge James Burke slammed Weinstein’s lead defense attorney, Donna Rotunno, for an op-ed that was published by Newsweek on Saturday in which she appealed for jurors to acquit her client.
‘I want to caution you about the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut,’ the judge told Rotunno.
He has now banned Weinstein’s defense team from speaking to the media until after the trial ends.
Rotunno told Burke that the opinion piece, titled ‘Jurors in my client Harvey Weinstein’s case must look past the headlines’, was not intended to address the jury directly.
‘This is an op-ed about the jury system as a whole, about the criminal justice system as a whole,’ she said.
In the op-ed, Rotunno said jurors were asked to avoid all media coverage and outside influences but questioned whether anyone thought it was ‘realistically possible’ in a ‘high-profile case like Harvey Weinstein’s’.
‘I implore the members of this jury to do what they know is right and was expected of them from the moment they were called upon to serve their civic duty in a court of law,’ she wrote.
‘The facts are the facts. Harvey Weinstein is innocent. His fate hangs in the balance, and the world is watching.’