Harvey Weinstein Denied Trial Delay Despite ‘She Said’ Publicity, Judge Rules
thewrap.comVariety, rejecting the disgraced mogul’s lawyers’ argument that the doc would unduly influence the jury pool. “We’ll just have to deal with it.”With that, Weinstein is set to go on trial for 11 felony counts beginning with pretrial hearings and jury selection starting Oct.
10. Opening statements are scheduled for Oct. 24.“She Said” comes out Nov. 18, though Weinstein’s lawyer Mark Werksman argued Monday that billboards, digital campaigns and other pre-release publicity will be well underway by mid-October.
Werksman did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.The prosecution, meanwhile, argued that postponement would be even worse — since it would give potential jurors the chance to see the film and be exposed to awards-season ad campaigns from distributor Universal.“She Said” is based on the book by New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Cantor, and will premiere at the New York Film Festival, which starts next month.Weinstein was charged with rape in New York in 2018 after Twohey and Cantor’s reporting was published by the Times.
Two years later, a Manhattan jury convicted him; he was sentenced to 23 years, though he was recently granted the right to appeal that verdict.Weinstein’s lawyers also argued that the appeals process in New York state’s highest court should play out before the Los Angeles trial proceeds, since a reversal could impact the Los Angeles trial — but Lench dismissed that argument also.
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