Harvey Weinstein jury selected with 7 men, 5 women; judge shuts down defense's argument
NEW YORK — All 12 jurors are in place for Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes trial, while his legal team's motion to move the proceedings to another county has been denied.
Late Friday morning, three white men and two white women were added to the panel of seven jurors selected on Thursday. Additionally, a white man, black woman and Latina woman were chosen as alternates.
On Thursday, the court picked four men and three women to serve on the jury in the high-profile case of Weinstein, 67, who is charged with five counts of sexual assault and rape in New York. Two of those jurors are black, two are white and one is Afro-Latina.
The jurors hold jobs in banking, accounting, tech and security, among other fields, while at least one has school-age children.
Harvey Weinstein trial: Five jurors, 3 men, 2 women, picked; potential juror facing jail time for tweet
Also on Friday, the New York Supreme Court appellate division responded to a motion by Weinstein's defense requesting that the trial be moved to another county in New York state, arguing that the pervasive media coverage of the case has tainted the jury pool.
But according to assistant district attorney Harriet Galvin, in a letter obtained by USA TODAY Friday afternoon, "The inhabitants of those jurisdictions have access to the same news sources and social media and, with a less diverse and populous source of jurors, are likely to be more impacted by protests or demonstrators than their counterparts in Manhattan."
Galvin continues: "(The) defendant's motion, lacking in any solid factual or legal basis, should be viewed as a transparent attempt to delay the proceedings and disrupt the presentation of the People’s case which is set to begin on Jan. 22, with witnesses flying in from around the world."
The fallen media mogul took another hit early Friday morning, when his lawyer, Arthur Aidala, unsuccessfully filed a fourth motion to screen jurors in private.
"There’s been much more publicity today and articles that have come out about this case," Aidala said. "I know the court has been admonishing jurors to not look at anything, but we know some jurors have been ignoring that.”
“Your application is denied," Judge James Burke fired back, being as frank about his distaste for this latest request as he has been about the others. "Nothing you said makes logical sense to me.”
The trial has had its share of drama in the jury screening process. Earlier this week, supermodel Gigi Hadid caused a stir when she arrived at a Manhattan courthouse to answer a jury summons, although she was dismissed from the case Thursday.
Another prospective juror faces 30 days in jail after posting about his jury summons for the Weinstein trial on Twitter, and must return to court in March with an attorney to fight a contempt charge.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harvey Weinstein judge to lawyer: Nothing you said makes logical sense
