Five years after the watershed #MeToo movement and two-and-a-half years since Harvey Weinstein was convicted of criminal sexual assault by a New York jury, the disgraced movie mogul is back in court, this time in Los Angeles, where a jury is expected to hear from a far more broad spectrum of accusers – and possibly Weinstein himself.
Weinstein is currently serving 23 years in New York Prison for Criminal First-degree Sexual Assault and Third-degree Rape. Weinstein was convicted on the basis that James Burke was biased towards him. Weinstein has maintained his innocence from the beginning. He has spent more than one year in Los Angeles jail while awaiting trial.
Monday marked the official beginning of jury selection at state court. Weinstein faces 11 counts of sexual assault stemming from allegations dating from 2004 to 2013. Weinstein could be sentenced to up to 140 years imprisonment if convicted. The trial is expected last for approximately eight weeks.
Weinstein was extradited by Los Angeles in July 2021. Since then, he has been held at Twin Towers. His attorneys tried to delay his trial in August. They argued that pre-publicity would have been detrimental to Weinstein’s case. “She Said,”Based on the book of that name written by two New York Times reporters, who discovered the Weinstein allegations, the jury would be influenced. This request was rejected by Lisa Lench, the Presiding Judge.
Weinstein will be able to request another postponement in order to fix his teeth.
Five women will testify against Weinstein. None of them have been identified. In addition to the five women who were originally granted permission to present five more witnesses, the prosecution was also allowed to present five additional witnesses in order to prove Weinstein’s prior bad acts. In August, however, one of those witnesses was identified only as “Miss I”Lench refused to allow her to testify and withdrew her testimony. Lench also denied that the prosecution had the right to replace her testimony with another witness, saying it was too similar in content to other witness testimony.
Weinstein was found guilty on two out of five charges in New York by a jury that took five days. Lench has already indicated that she will let prosecutors disclose any prior convictions to this juror. I spoke with several attorneys to find out what they expected and how Weinstein would fare.
Legal analyst and former LA County Deputy District Attorney Emily D. Baker said she believes Weinstein’s defense team will have an even greater uphill battle in California.
“In New York he was accused of five charges [three of which the jury dismissed],”She spoke. “In the Los Angeles case he’s facing 11 different charges with five different victims and multiple prior bad acts witnesses against him, making this a difficult case for the defense.”
LA criminal attorney Louis Shapiro concurred. “I believe it’s more a pro-victim environment here,”He said. “And while I think that defendants in LA or New York generally fare better than in more conservative places, these charges are so highly sensitive and emotionally charged it makes it an uphill battle for [Weinstein], especially in light of his NY conviction.”
Barry Saltzman is a New York-based attorney who acts as a legal advocate for victims of sexual assault. He believes that the NY court allowed evidence of previous bad acts and the LA court allows it. “I believe that shows the evidence against Weinstein is very strong. I would expect a similar result as in New York despite the fact that he’s won the right to appeal. I suspect that the evidence is so
strong that ultimately, he’s going to be convicted.”
However, Los Angeles based attorney Shari Karney, who represents victims of sexual assault, sexual abuse, rape, child sex abuse and sexual harassment, argues Weinstein only needs one sympathetic juror, stating it’s about “finding that one juror that empathizes with a white male of power, fame, and privilege, accused of sexual misconduct by actresses.”
“Actresses are victim-shamed in the extreme,”She spoke. “They are often deemed by the industry and the public as unreliable and prone to acting on the stand if they cry or show trauma or their emotions.”
What, if any, might be significantly different in this trial? Weinstein
Could just make the stand.
“We might see [Weinstein] testifying this time round because he didn’t testify in New York and that didn’t go so well for him,” Shapiro said. “His defense team might think, ‘What have we got to lose if we try it a different way this time around?’”
Baker is in agreement. “In New York, it was reported that Weinstein wanted to testify in his own defense,”She spoke. “Now that he has been sentenced to 23 years in New York, he may feel there is nothing to lose by testifying and may take the stand.”
Shapiro also believes that Weinstein’s upcoming appeal could give him a sense of hope that the justice system is fairer than he originally thought.
“I think the challenging part is the defense wants to argue that the women need to be accountable as well. They could well argue that Weinstein may not be a saint but the women went along with him because they would benefit professionally and now, they’re having buyer’s remorse.”
He notes that it’s a tough argument to make without offending people on the jury, but that the legal landscape is different now than it was in 2020.
“We’re a little bit further away from the #MeToo era,”He said. “And the public may be more open now. We saw that play out in the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial, with people saying, ‘Not every woman is going to be a victim if they scream #metoo.’ I think that is probably going to be a bell that the Weinstein camp rings at this trial.”
Karney also cited the Depp/Heard trial along with the overturning of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction in July 2021. “The playbook table has been set by Depp v. Heard and Cosby to try the victims instead of the rich, powerful, well-connected men of influence,”She spoke.
Baker also pointed out that Depp V. Heard was causing Baker to be concerned. “I wonder if the public awareness of that trial will impact the jury, or will impact the way the media covers this trial?”
Saltzman said that as a victims’ rights attorney, he feels that Weinstein is “a bad player,”He stated that Heard was maligned, and was portrayed in a negative way. The Weinstein case is a different story.
“I think that the evidence against Weinstein is strong, just like the evidence against Ghislaine Maxwell and — even though it was a civil suit in the end — against Prince Andrew.”He also stated that the Weinstein case, unlike Depp V. Heard was a multi-level case involving multiple accusations from multiple women.
Sonia Shakoori an attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice who works with victims of sexual assault said she too believes there’s a strong chance of Weinstein being convicted.
“I’m encouraged by what happened in New York and that prosecutors here will be allowed to bring up his prior conviction.”
She also feels it’s unlikely his appeal will work in his favor. “Appeals are very hard in my opinion,”She spoke. “While I’m not 100 percent certain, I really don’t think [the defense] has a strong case.”
No matter how the the trial plays out, all the attorneys noted that it’s the women slated to take the stand (none of whom have been identified yet), who will have the toughest task.
“The legal system is designed to deter women … from speaking up against powerful, male predators regarding sexual abuse and assault,”Karney stated.
“The victim is on trial … they are showing Herculean courage in going against Weinstein. Everything is at stake for them. Their careers, reputations and futures. I applaud them and support them.”
Weinstein’s trial is one of four #MeToo-related case getting underway this week, including Danny Masterson in Los Angeles, and Kevin Spacey and Paul Haggis in New York. Separately, Cuba Gooding Jr. will be sentencing in a case involving forcible touching. He pleaded guilty to the charges in April.