‘Something going on in jury room' at Weinstein trial, judge told
Jurors in Harvey Weinstein's MeToo retrial appeared far apart on a verdict as they returned to court on Monday for a third day of deliberations.
The jury asked to be reminded of the definition of reasonable doubt and rules about avoiding a hung jury, and the foreperson sent a note saying he wanted to speak to the judge 'about a situation that isn't very good'.
The foreperson told Judge Curtis Farber that he was concerned about 'something going on in the jury room'. He was then taken behind closed doors to discuss the matter with Mr Farber, prosecutors and the defence team.
Weinstein waived his right to be present for that conversation, which was held in Mr Farber's robing room, outside the view of reporters and the public.
It was not immediately clear what the foreperson said. Mr Farber has yet to give jurors the instructions they wanted reread to them.
After the closed-door conversation, Weinstein's lawyers returned to the courtroom and huddled around the court stenographer's machine, jotting down notes while Mr Farber heard another, unrelated case.
The jury of seven women and five men began weighing charges against the former movie mogul on Thursday.
Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of committing a criminal sex act and one count of rape.
On Friday, a Weinstein juror asked to be removed from the case, saying he felt other jurors were treating one member of the panel in an 'unfair and unjust' way.
The judge told him he had to keep deliberating and also denied a defence request for a mistrial over the issue.
Weinstein was originally convicted in New York in 2020 of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault in a verdict considered a landmark in the MeToo movement.
But the conviction was subsequently overturned, leading to his retrial – with an additional accuser added last year – before a new jury and a different judge.
Weinstein was also convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape.
After the 2020 conviction was thrown out, Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, opted to charge Weinstein again almost immediately, eventually bringing two counts of first-degree criminal sexual act and one count of third-degree rape against him.
Weinstein denies the charges, alleging the sexual encounters were consensual. His lawyer Arthur Aidala said the Oscar-winning producer had 'mutually beneficial' relationships with his accusers, who ended up with auditions and other show business opportunities.
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