Latest news with #JusticeFarber
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein gets mistrial on rape charge after jury drama spirals out of control
Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes retrial ended with no verdict on a rape charge Thursday as the jury foreperson refused to continue deliberating because of alleged threats from another juror — just one day after the disgraced Miramax mogul was convicted on a more serious sex rap. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber ruled that the deadlocked jury had not been able to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Weinstein, 73, raped former actress Jessica Mann inside a Midtown hotel room in 2013. 'Sometimes jury deliberations become heated. I understand this particular deliberation was more heated than some others. That's unfortunate,' Farber told the panelists, before finding a mistrial on the rape charge. The decision to call an end to the eight-week trial came after chaotic deliberations in which the panel of seven women and five men ultimately delivered a split verdict Wednesday, convicting Weinstein of one count of criminal sex act in the first degree and acquitting on a second count of that same rap. Jury dysfunction broke out last week when one juror expressed that 'playground' bullying was happening during deliberations — which leaked into the following days as the foreperson, Juror No.1, claimed that a fellow panelist verbally threatened him, telling him, 'I would meet you outside one day.' The judge ordered the jury to 'cool off' Wednesday, pausing deliberations before the partial verdict was delivered. He ordered the jurors to keep weighing the rape charge Thursday — and in the morning summoned the foreperson to the courtroom to ask him if he was able to continue working with the others. 'No, I'm sorry,' the juror said. Weinstein, who has often been reserved to moderate expressions from his black wheelchair, clapped three times when the juror refused to head back into deliberations. The judge said after in court that he spoke with others on the panel, who told him they were 'extremely disappointed' in not being able to finish their duty — while also pouring water on the foreperson's claims that deliberations were as toxic as they seemed. 'They did not describe anything that rose to the level of threats,' the judge said. As jurors were leaving the courthouse, several expressed frustration with deliberations and criticized the jury foreman, calling the jury dysfunction 'overblown.' The jury was hung on whether to convict Weinstein of rape in the third degree for allegedly assaulting Mann, who sobbed on the stand while describing the rape, and seeing Weinstein's erection-inducing drug needle in the trash afterward. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said prosecutors were ready to roll and retry Weinstein for the third time on Mann's accusation. But Weinstein's attorney, Arthur Aidala, asked for the charge to be dismissed. The judge set a hearing for July 2 to schedule a trial date. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg explained that his decision to retry the case for the third time was for 'survivors.' 'Harvey Weinstein is going to be held accountable for his conduct as to Ms. Haley, and he's facing a very significant term of imprisonment for that,' Bragg said at a press conference. 'But the jury was not able to reach a conclusion as to Jessica Mann, and she deserved that.' Mann said in a statement that she will go to bat for prosecutors and testify for a third time against Weinstein. 'I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard. I have told the District Attorney I am ready, willing and able to endure this as many times as it takes for justice and accountability to be served. Today is not the end of my fight,' Mann said. Weinstein was convicted of criminal sex act in the first degree Wednesday for assaulting Miriam 'Mimi' Haley, a former TV production assistant, at his Soho loft in 2006. Jurors acquitted Weinstein of the same charge pertaining to the alleged rape of former Polish model Kaja Sokola, who testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at a Tribeca hotel in 2006, days shy of her 20th birthday. Weinstein faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison for the conviction of first-degree criminal sex act. The rape charge he faces carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison. The producer perv has also been sentenced to 16 years in California for raping an Italian model at a film festival in 2013. He was initially found guilty at trial in 2020 of criminal sex act and rape and given a 23-year prison sentence — but New York's highest court tossed the conviction last year. Weinstein's attorney, who bemoaned over-and-over about how ex-Miramax studio boss wasn't getting a fair trial, said that they will appeal the partial conviction. 'We have very powerful evidence that there was gross juror misconduct at this trial,' Aidala said.
RTÉ News
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
Judge declares mistrial on Harvey Weinstein rape charge
The judge overseeing Harvey Weinstein's criminal case in Manhattan has declared a mistrial on a rape charge, one day after the former Hollywood movie mogul was convicted on a felony sex abuse charge. Justice Curtis Farber ended the nearly seven-week trial after the jury foreperson refused to continue deliberations, following multiple days of reported dissension among jurors that at times was aired in the courtroom. Prosecutors said they will try Weinstein a third time on the charge of third-degree rape, over his alleged mistreatment of the aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. Justice Farber said the case will proceed to trial, over the objections of Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala, and set a hearing for 2 July. 73-year-old Weinstein had pleaded not guilty and has denied assaulting anyone or having non-consensual sex. He faces up to 25 years in prison for his conviction on a charge of first-degree criminal sexual act, stemming from his alleged assault of former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006. Weinstein was also acquitted of the same charge over his alleged assault in 2002 of Kaja Sokola, then a 16-year-old aspiring actress. He is separately appealing a 2022 rape conviction in California, for which he was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein's downfall began in 2017 and helped spark the #MeToo movement, which encouraged women to come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men. A different jury in the Manhattan court had found Weinstein guilty in 2020 of raping Ms Mann and sexually assaulting Ms Haley, but New York state's highest court overturned that conviction last year. More than 100 women have accused him of misconduct. The mistrial came one day after the jury foreperson told Justice Farber that other jurors were shouting at and threatening him for refusing to change his vote on the rape count. The foreperson did not indicate publicly how he planned to vote, and Justice Farber sent jurors home to cool off. In closing arguments on 3 June, the prosecution told the 12 jurors that the evidence showed how Weinstein used his power and influence to trap and abuse women. The defence countered that the accusers lied on the witness stand out of spite after their consensual sexual encounters with the Oscar-winning producer failed to result in Hollywood stardom. Weinstein, who has had many health problems in recent years and attended the retrial in a wheelchair, co-founded the Miramax studio, whose hit movies included such Academy Award winners as "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction." Weinstein's own eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, five months after sexual misconduct accusations against him became widely publicised.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
'I just don't think it's fair': Weinstein juror threatens to quit over other jurors' actions
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - The judge overseeing former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape and sexual assault trial refused on Friday to dismiss a juror who said some jurors were treating others on the 12-person panel unfairly. "I just don't think it's fair and just," the juror told New York Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber in court, referring to things other jurors were saying and doing behind another juror's back. "There is a bit of a shunning happening," the juror said. The juror asked to be dismissed but Farber said there was no legal basis to do so after the juror confirmed that no one on the jury panel was pressuring him to change his view of the case. "If any other juror feels they need to talk to me, they can," the judge said. Weinstein's lawyers said they would make a proposal on how to address the matter later on Friday. Friday was the second day of jury deliberations. No other jurors were present during the exchange. Farber dismissed alternates from the jury on Thursday. Weinstein, 73, was convicted of rape by a Manhattan jury in February 2020, but the New York Court of Appeals threw out the conviction and ordered a new trial, citing errors by the trial judge. Prosecutors say the Academy Award-winning producer raped aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and assaulted two other women in 2006 and 2002. Weinstein, who has denied ever having non-consensual sex or assaulting anyone, has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to 25 years in prison for two counts of criminal sexual acts and up to four years for one count of rape. Weinstein is already serving a 16-year prison sentence after being found guilty in December 2022 of rape in a separate California case. Prosecutors with the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg have portrayed Weinstein as a serial predator who promised career advancement in Hollywood to women, only to then coax them into private settings where he attacked them. Weinstein's defense lawyers have said his encounters with the women were consensual and accused them of lying about being raped after failing to make it big in Hollywood by sleeping with him.
