Harvey Weinstein trial: When is it, how long will it last and what is the producer accused of?
Former movie mogul goes on trial next week in New York
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Your support makes all the difference.Harvey Weinstein’s trial is just days away, with the former movie mogul set to face rape charges next week in Manhattan.
The proceedings are expected to last for a total of six weeks, beginning on Monday, 6 January.
Weinstein, 67, has pleaded not guilty to charges of assaulting two women in New York – one in 2006 and the other in 2013. He faces up to life in prison if convicted on the top counts, predatory sexual assault.
The accusations against the producer, once one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures, helped fuel the #MeToo movement after they surfaced in October 2017.
In all, more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct dating back decades. He has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
Here is everything you need to know about the Weinstein trial:
Jury selection will be the first step
The proceedings will begin with jury selection, the process through which impartial jurors are selected for the rest of the trial. It is expected to begin on Monday and to last for two weeks.
Finding impartial jurors in highly publicised cases can be a challenge – and according to legal experts, lawyers will need to keep an eye out for jurors who want to use the case to make a statement about sexual abuse following the rise of the #MeToo movement.
For example, potential jurors may try to mask their bias to advance a larger cause one way or the other.
“They may think, ‘I want to be the one to make sure he goes to jail. I want to be the one to do justice,’” said Roy Futterman, a New York jury consultant. On the other hand, Futterman said, people who believe that #MeToo has gone too far and ruined the lives of innocent men, may attempt to hide their bias so they can exonerate Weinstein.
One of his lawyers, Donna Rotunno, said the defence team will be looking at potential jurors’ social media use and responses to jury selection questions, and said she is confident that will uncover biased candidates.
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“Obviously this case has a lot more notoriety and press involved with it, but that’s a concern in any case,” Rotunno said in a phone interview. “Once 12 people are put on that bench and they realise the gravity of it, they really want to be fair.”
The trial is taking place in New York City
Weinstein in October lost a bid to move the trial to suburban Long Island or to Albany, New York State’s capital. He had alleged that intense media scrutiny made it impossible for jurors to give him a fair trial in Manhattan.
“The question ... will be not whether they’ve heard of the Weinstein case and the allegations against him, but whether that publicity has made it impossible for someone to be a fair and impartial juror,” said Deborah Tuerkheimer, a Northwestern University law professor and former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
With the trial taking place in New York City, experts say both sides will likely question potential jurors about their knowledge and opinion of the case, their work history and whether they have been victims of sexual misconduct.
Legal teams in high-profile trials often spend hundreds of hours building databases of potential jurors’ activity on social media such as Facebook and Twitter that might reveal bias, said Jeffrey Frederick, director of Jury Research Services at the National Legal Research Group Inc in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“It’s almost legal malpractice not to do this,” he said. “You will find people in your jury pool where you will go, ‘Whoa, this is particularly good or particularly bad for me.’”
Jurors may be eliminated
Lawyers can excuse an unlimited number of potential jurors if they show bias for or against Weinstein. Each side can typically use “peremptory” challenges to eliminate up to three potential jurors they believe will be unsympathetic, without providing a reason.
The #MeToo movement has prompted more people who have experienced sexual assault or workplace harassment to come forward, which is likely to complicate the vetting process, Tuerkheimer said.
According to a 2018 Pew Research study, about 60% of women surveyed said they had been subjected to unwanted sexual advances or sexual harassment in their lifetime, and more than half of those reported being harassed in the workplace.
Some, but not all, of those people might be biased, Tuerkheimer said.
Experts said the prosecution may seek to eliminate jurors who say they have been falsely accused of harassment, out of fear they might sympathise with Weinstein, while the defence might excuse people who appear to be activists or favour liberal causes.
Paul Callan, a former prosecutor, said lawyers also will want to avoid potential jurors seeking to cash in on the experience.
“If books are written after the trial, that could result in a reversal,” Callan said.
Additional reporting by agencies