New York (AFP) – Tensions flared again Monday among jurors in the sex crimes retrial of disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, raising the risk of a deadlocked jury and a mistrial. As court proceedings resumed Monday morning in the New York courtroom, Judge Curtis Farber read aloud two notes sent to him by the 12-member jury deliberating behind closed doors.
In the first note, a juror expressed a desire to talk to Farber “about the situation that isn’t very good.” In the second, jurors wrote they “request the entire definition of reasonable doubt and rules of the jury especially to avoid a hung jury.” A hung jury occurs when a judge acknowledges that jurors have been unable to reach a unanimous decision after several days of deliberations. In that case, a mistrial is declared and a new trial may be held.
On Monday morning, Weinstein, whose downfall in 2017 sparked the global #MeToo movement, looked on impassively from his wheelchair, as the judge, prosecutors, and his lawyers engaged in tense discussions. The jury must decide whether Weinstein — accused by dozens of women of being a sexual predator — is guilty of sexual assaults in 2006 on Haley and former model Kaja Sokola, and of rape in 2013 of then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Weinstein is on trial again after a New York state appeals court threw out his 2020 convictions, citing irregularities in the original proceedings. The former movie industry titan’s 23-year prison sentence for the initial conviction was thrown out, but he remains imprisoned for separate offenses.
On Friday, one juror came forward to report tensions between his fellow panelists, alleging “people are being shunned. It’s playground stuff.” He asked to resign as a juror, but Farber denied his request.
© 2024 AFP
