2 weeks ago
7
NEW YORK -- Former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted Wednesday of 1 of the apical charges successful his enactment crimes retrial but acquitted of another, and jurors were arsenic yet incapable to scope a verdict connected a 3rd charge.
The divided verdict meted retired a measurement of vindication to his accusers and prosecutors - but besides to Weinstein - aft the landmark lawsuit was thrown into limbo.
Weinstein's archetypal condemnation 5 years agone seemed to cement the downfall of 1 of Hollywood's astir almighty men successful a pivotal infinitesimal for the #MeToo movement. But that condemnation was overturned past year, and the lawsuit was sent backmost for retrial successful the aforesaid Manhattan courthouse.
This time, a majority-female assemblage convicted the erstwhile workplace brag of forcibly subjecting 1 to a transgression enactment enactment successful 2006.
But jurors acquitted Weinstein of different transgression enactment enactment complaint from 2006. And jurors were to proceed deliberating connected a complaint that helium raped different pistillate successful 2013. Under New York law, the third-degree rape complaint carries a lesser punishment than the first-degree transgression enactment enactment offense.
Weinstein, 73, denies sexually assaulting oregon raping anyone.
Jury deliberations had teetered Wednesday arsenic the foreperson again requested to talk to the justice astir "a situation" helium recovered troubling.
The antheral - who complained Monday that different jurors were pushing radical to alteration their minds and talking astir accusation beyond the charges - was being questioned successful private, astatine his request.
While the assemblage was successful tribunal to perceive the reply to an earlier petition to re-hear the substance of a rape law, the foreperson signaled to Judge Curtis Farber that helium wanted to talk.
"He said words to the effect of 'I can't spell backmost successful determination with the different jurors,'" Farber explained later. The foreperson was sent to hold successful a abstracted room, wherever helium penned a enactment saying, "I request to speech to you astir a situation."
When concisely brought into court, the foreperson said helium wanted to talk successful private. He, the judge, prosecutors and Weinstein's lawyers past went down closed doors.
The treatment was closed to the property and public, but Farber aboriginal said the foreperson had expressed that helium didn't privation to alteration his presumption - immoderate it whitethorn beryllium - and was being bullied.
"He did bespeak that astatine slightest 1 different juror made comments to the effect of 'I'll conscionable you extracurricular 1 day,' and there's yelling and screaming," the justice said.
Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala characterized the foreperson's concerns much severely, saying that the antheral had said helium was acrophobic for his information aft his chap panelist talked astir gathering him extracurricular and added, "you don't cognize me."
"I don't deliberation the tribunal is protecting this juror. Period," Aidala said, going connected to inquire for a mistrial.
Prosecutor Matthew Colangelo, however, said the foreperson hadn't seemed acrophobic oregon apprehensive, conscionable "stubborn."
"He said he'd made up his mind, helium didn't privation to alteration it, and radical were pressuring him to alteration it. That's what assemblage deliberations involve," the authoritative said.
The occurrence was the latest motion of strain among the jurors. On Friday, 1 of them asked to beryllium excused due to the fact that helium felt different subordinate of the radical was being treated unfairly.
Weinstein's lawyers asked unsuccessfully for a mistrial then, and again aft the foreperson expressed his concerns Monday. The assemblage kept deliberating and went done Tuesday without sending immoderate much messages astir interpersonal tensions.
The 7 pistillate and 5 antheral jurors started their 5th time of deliberations Wednesday by re-hearing accuser Jessica Mann's grounds that helium raped her successful a Manhattan edifice country successful 2013. The radical wrapped up Tuesday's deliberations by asking to revisit that testimony.
Some jurors appeared to instrumentality caller notes Wednesday, portion others sat impassively arsenic tribunal stenographers work aloud the requested parts of Mann's days-long testimony. The assemblage had already reheard immoderate of the passages past week.
Weinstein, 73, pleaded not blameworthy to raping Mann and to forcing oral enactment connected 2 different women, Mimi Haley and Kaja Sokola. The Oscar-winning shaper and erstwhile Hollywood powerbroker maintains that helium ne'er sexually assaulted oregon raped anyone, and his lawyers portrayed his accusers arsenic opportunists who accepted his advances due to the fact that they wanted a limb up successful the amusement world.
Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
