Three men and two women, in the meantime, have been selected to serve on the jury panel for the disgraced producer's rape and sexual assault trial, with Gigi Hadid being cut from consideration.
- Jan 17, 2020
AceShowbiz - Harvey Weinstein's lawyers have launched another bid to halt jury selection and move the producer's rape trial out of New York City.
The disgraced movie mogul has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and sexual assault relating to alleged incidents with two separate women in 2006 and 2013.
Opening arguments in the trial are expected to take place next week (begins January 20), but jury selection has been slow as prosecutors and defence lawyers struggle to agree on potential jurors, with many dismissed for having already made up their minds about Weinstein.
The 67-year-old's legal representatives filed a last-minute motion to pause jury selection on Wednesday, January 15 as they sought to have the case relocated to ensure a fair trial, citing the intense publicity and the constant presence of protestors blasting Weinstein outside the courthouse for turning the proceedings into a "media and entertainment circus".
"The deluge of publicity adverse to Mr. Weinstein has engulfed the potential jury pool resulting in untoward pressure upon jurors to convict a man demonized and prejudged guilty," Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, wrote in the petition.
He had previously filed a similar, unsuccessful request in October (2019), while last week (ends January 10), Aidala was also shut down as he suggested the trial be postponed to allow a "cooling off period" in the wake of new sex assault charges filed against his client in Los Angeles.
The latest argument was heard by Justice David Friedman on Thursday, but a ruling won't be made in appellate court until January 21, reports Deadline.com.
He declined to stop jury selection until a decision was reached, and by Thursday afternoon, just five jurors - three men and two women - had been picked to serve on the panel out of the 145 invited back for further questioning.
Model Gigi Hadid was among those cut from consideration on Thursday morning.
A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates are required for the start of the trial, which will be overseen by Judge James Burke and is scheduled to kick off next Wednesday and continue until early March, 2020.
