The jury in Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial found him guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault against former Project Runway assistant Miriam Haley, but not guilty of the other count of criminal sexual assault against former model Kaja Sokola.
The jury has yet to reach a verdict on rape in the third degree related to aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Judge Curtis Farber on Wednesday had asked the jury whether they had reached a verdict on any counts, before dismissing them for the day, amid larger concerns about fighting and tensions in the jury room. Weinstein faced one charge of rape in the third degree and two charges of criminal sexual act in the first degree, which is the higher felony charge and carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. Deliberations are expected to resume Thursday on the rape charge.
Haley, a former production assistant on Project Runway, alleged he forced oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment in 2006. Aspiring actress Jessica Mann claimed she was raped by Weinstein in 2013 in a Manhattan hotel and former model Kaja Sokola testifed Weinstein forcibly had oral sex with her in a hotel in 2006.
The concerns about jury tensions reached such a fever pitch Wednesday that Weinstein himself asked to address the judge in court. “Your honor, this is a profile in courage moment for you. This is the fourth time we’ve heard a complaint from the jury,” Weinstein said.
“This is not right for me, the person who is on trial here,” the former mogul continued. “This is my life that’s on the line, and you know what it’s not fair. It’s simple. It’s just not fair.”
Weinstein went on to address an earlier complaint from the juror in which he said the jury was discussing elements of his past that were not part of the case.
“I know how it feels because I’ve been in situations like this in business,” Weinstein told the judge about the decision to continue the trial. “I’ve been in situations where I’ve wanted to hold on for dear life,” but that was the wrong choice, he added.
He went on to note that he knows “judges on a personal level. I know lawyers on a personal level.”
“It’s time. It’s time. It’s time to say this trial is over,” Weinstein said.
Farber denied his request and his attorney Arthur Aidala’s earlier request for a mistrial, saying that jury room discussions can get heated.
“Jurors fight. They act childish at times. They get heated,” Farber said. “I’m not going to allow any injustice to happen to you.”
This came after the foreperson sent a note Wednesday afternoon asking to speak to the judge, after saying out loud in the courtroom, “I can’t go back in there with the other jurors.”
He asked to speak privately with the attorneys and Farber. After returning to court, Farber summed it up saying, “In a nutshell, there does appear to be some fighting in the jury room.”
“At least one other juror made comments to the effect of ‘I’ll meet you outside one day,’” Farber said, adding that there had also been yelling and screaming.
“Call 911, protect him! He’s asking you to protect him,” Aidala yelled in the courtroom about the juror. “There’s a crime going on in there!”
That was the second time the foreperson has asked to speak to the judge during deliberations. On Monday morning, the foreperson had written the judge a note saying “I need to talk to you about a situation which isn’t very good.” At the time, the foreperson said jurors were considering elements from Weinstein’s past that weren’t being used as evidence in the trial and weren’t part of the charged crimes.
Another juror, who was juror number seven on this case and the youngest on the jury, had asked to address the court twice Friday, first saying he had heard jurors discussing another juror in the courtroom elevators, and then asking to be excused from the jury as he did not feel the process was “fair,” while staring at the defense table.
In the 2020 trial, Weinstein received a mixed verdict with the jury finding Weinstein guilty of the crimes against Haley and Mann, but also acquitting Weinstein of first-degree rape and predatory sexual assault. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg pursued the retrial of Weinstein shortly after his conviction was overturned.
Sokola was a new addition to this case, and a key witness for the prosecution, as she described meeting with Weinstein for lunch at the Tribeca Grand Hotel in 2006 and being invited up to his hotel room to see a script, as she pursued becoming an actress. When she followed him up, she testified that Weinstein asked her to come up to a hotel room to see a script and then forcibly held her down on the bed, removed her stockings and underwear and performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly asked him to stop.
Before the foreperson brought up his concern, the jury had sent three notes Wednesday afternoon related to the testimony of Mann and another Thursday afternoon asking for the legal definition of rape in the third degree.
More to come.
