Jury in Harvey Weinstein sex assault retrial deliberates 4th day with no verdict
NEW YORK — Day four of deliberations in the Manhattan sexual assault retrial of Harvey Weinstein ended with no more outward signs of drama in the jury room — but with no verdict by day's end.
The disgraced 73-year-old movie mogul faces criminal sexual act and rape charges based on the allegations of three women, former TV production assistant Miriam Haley, Polish model and aspiring actress Kaja Sokola, and one-time actress Jessica Mann.
Over the past few days, notes and statements from two of the jurors suggested tensions in the group, with juror No. 7 on Friday asking to be dismissed because he was uncomfortable dealing with 'playground stuff' that included one juror talking about another in an elevator.
On Monday, the jury foreperson sent Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber a note reading, 'I need to talk to you about a situation that isn't very good,' then told the judge that some jurors 'are pushing people, talking about (Weinstein's) past.'
That led Weinstein's defense team to press for a stop to the deliberations, with defense lawyer Arthur Aidala saying, 'He's coming to us crying for help. We don't send him into the lion's den without taking any action.'
Farber denied that request, and deliberations continued.
The jury on Tuesday also asked the court to 'reread the entire jury definition reasonable doubt … and rules of deliberation, especially in terms of avoiding a hung jury.'
By Tuesday, though, they showed no indications that they were inching toward a hung jury.
The jury ended the day by asking to review the evidence involving Mann on Wednesday morning — her e-mails to Weinstein, her medical records from when she checked herself into an emergency room in October 2017, and a read-back of her testimony about the day she says Weinstein raped her in a Midtown hotel in 2013.
The jury had already requested some of that evidence, including the medical records, last week.
Deliberations resume at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
A Manhattan jury convicted Weinstein of rape and sexual assault charges in 2020, based on Haley and Mann's accusations, at the height of the #MeToo movement.
But the state's highest court threw out that conviction last year, ruling that the trial judge should have never allowed women who weren't part of the charges to testify against him and establish a pattern of predatory behavior.
More than 80 women, including actresses Mira Sorvino and Ashley Judd, have accused Weinstein of sexual assault, harassment or other misconduct.
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