Harvey Weinstein Appears in Court Ahead of Jury Selection In Trial
Harvey Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday as his defense team and prosecutors battled over remaining motions ahead of his upcoming trial.
Jury selection is currently scheduled to start April 15 for Weinstein, who faces a retrial on the charges of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. In September, he was indicted on a new charge of criminal sexual act in the first degree.
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Weinstein and his team have often cited his poor health as a reason to get the trial started with urgency, and his health came into account again Wednesday, as the former mogul, seated in a wheelchair, asked his attorney to tell the judge that his treatment during Wednesday's lunch break was 'horrendous,' with his attorney, Arthur Aidala, citing his age, 73, and saying he 'needs some form of nourishment.'
'He cannot be in a diminished state during the course of this trial,' Aidala said. 'He's a 73-year-old man.'
Weinstein waived his appearance Thursday due to his health issues, as the two parties work through remaining motions ahead of the trial, which is expected to last four to six weeks. Weinstein has been diagnosed with leukemia among a number of other medical conditions and has been brought to the hospital a few times in the last 12 months.
Despite the focus on Weinstein's health during the pre-trial proceedings, Judge Curtis J. Farber ruled in an earlier hearing that his condition will not be allowed to be brought up in court, unless he testifies on the stand.
During Wednesday's hearing, Farber also reversed his earlier decision and ruled that one of the three witnesses in the case, complaining witness #2, will be allowed to use the word 'force' or describe the use of force.
Weinstein's defense team had sought to preclude the term after Weinstein had been acquitted of his prior rape charge that alleged he had used force. They argued that the witnesses use of the term would open the door to informing jurors that Weinstein had been acquitted of the rape charge.
In an earlier proceeding, Farber had ruled that neither party can use evidence or arguments related to the reversal of Weinstein's 2020 conviction nor talk about the jury's decision to acquit Weinstein on certain charges at that time.
On Wednesday, Farber told Weinstein's team they could cross examine the witness or he could add jury instructions if they were concerned about the prior conviction coming up in trial. However, Aidala told reporters during the lunch break Wednesday that this could be a potential issue for appeal.
The majority of the day was spent on a motion by Weinstein's team to disqualify assistant district attorney Shannon Lucey from the case, as they said they would not be able to question her on the stand in regards to notes she took from one of the complaining witnesses. After heated arguments and several conversations in chambers, Weinstein's team agreed to withdraw the motion, so long as a stipulation was given to the jury about the notetaking.
The two parties had yet to reach an agreement on the exact language for the stipulation, and planned to continue discussions overnight and into a hearing Thursday.
Lucey took notes during an interview with one of the complaining witnesses in 2020. At the time, that witness was not part of Weinstein's criminal case. But the witness returned for grand jury testimony in 2024, at which time Lucey also took notes. Weinstein's team argued there are inconsistencies between the notes, while prosecutors argued that the notes were not verbatim and the early sessions were 'brief.'
If the witness testified to use of force beyond what was included in the notes during the trial, Weinstein's team argued they would want to question the notetaker, Lucey, on the stand, but would be prohibited from doing so because she's part of the prosecution.
If Lucey were to be disqualified, prosecutors had said they would need 60 days to replace her, delaying the start of the trial. Weinstein's attorneys argued that their client did not want to wait that long due to his health.
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