The first real test for the #MeToo movement ended with a split verdict: on the fifth day of deliberation, a jury of seven women and five men found Harvey Weinstein guilty of a single count of criminal sexual act.
Jurors later acquitted the former producer on a similar charge but have yet to reach a verdict on the sole rape charge, that of former assistant Jessica Mann. That will be discussed again when the jury reconvenes: Judge Curtis Farber sent them home after indications of a particularly tense atmosphere in the jury room.
Today's partial announcement capped an unusual morning in court. According to the foreman's account to Judge Farber and his attorneys, jury members argued heatedly during deliberations, at times yelling at one another and threatening to use force.
Weinstein himself had opened his mouth in court, asking for a mistrial: "My life is at stake, this is not right," the 73-year-old former king of Hollywood had said, but the judge had refused. Farber then closed the day early to allow the jurors to distance themselves before closing on the third charge, the alleged rape of the Manns: "Start from scratch."
Weinstein was previously convicted in Manhattan in 2020 of rape and criminal sexual assault, but was retried after the initial conviction was overturned last year by the New York State Court of Appeals on procedural grounds that the judge in the original trial should not have admitted testimony from women who had accused Weinstein of sexual assault that had not resulted in formal charges.
At the first trial, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after decades of his predatory behavior towards models and aspiring actresses being a secret to no one in Hollywood. After the first sentence was overturned, the former Miramax boss remained in prison because he had also been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles: a verdict he appealed.
This time, three women had accused him: in addition to Mann, with whom he had at one point had a consensual relationship, former Project Runway assistant Miriam Haley and aspiring Polish model Kaja Sokola. Jurors found in favor of Haley and in favor of Sokola. Each count of criminal sexual act carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
(Online Union)
