Harvey Weinstein juror refuses to rejoin deliberations causing rape charge mistrial

Telegraph

3 days ago

The judge in the Harvey Weinstein sex crimes retrial declared a mistrial on the outstanding rape charge against the producer on Thursday, after the jury foreman refused to return to deliberate the count amid a jury room feud.
'Deliberations became heated to such a degree I am obligated to declare a mistrial on the one count on which you didn't reach a verdict,' Judge Curtis Farber told the jury panel.
On Wednesday, Weinstein was convicted on one count of sexual assault by a Manhattan jury but was found not guilty of assaulting a second woman.
Weinstein was found guilty of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, and not guilty of sexually assaulting Kaja Sokola.
Weinstein faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced. He has separately been sentenced to 16 years in prison following a rape conviction in California.
The jury reached its verdict one year after the disgraced Hollywood titan's conviction was overturned.
After the verdict was handed down, the judge said the jury would continue to deliberate on the third-degree rape charge, a highly unusual move according to legal experts.
Before the jury announced its verdict on Wednesday, Justice Curtis Farber met privately with one person on the 12-member jury referred to as Juror One. The judge then stated in open court that there had been 'fighting' in the jury room.
'Juror One has made it very clear that he is not going to change his position,' Judge Farber said, adding that Juror One did not tell him what his position was.
'He indicated that at least one other juror made comments to the juror that, 'I'll meet you outside one day', and there's yelling and screaming.'
Judge Farber sent jurors home for the day to give them time to cool down and instructed the foreman to arrive in court separately on Thursday.
In closing arguments on June 3, the prosecution told the 12 jurors that the evidence showed how Weinstein used his power and influence to trap and abuse women.
The defence countered that the accusers lied on the witness stand out of spite after their consensual sexual encounters with the Oscar-winning producer failed to result in Hollywood stardom.
Weinstein, who has had a litany of health problems in recent years and attended the retrial in a wheelchair, has remained behind bars because of his California conviction. He is appealing that verdict.
More than 100 women, including famous actresses, have accused Weinstein of misconduct.