(NEW YORK) — A New York judge has declared a mistrial on the third-degree rape count in Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes retrial on Thursday, after the jury foreman refused to return to deliberate.
The foreman had told Judge Curtis Farber on Wednesday that he was afraid to be in the same room with fellow jurors after he claimed they yelled at him to try and change his mind.
Asked if he would be willing to go back to the deliberation room Thursday, the foreman said, “No, I’m sorry.” Farber then dismissed the remaining jurors.
The former movie mogul was accused of sexually assaulting three women over a decade ago in New York City.
The mistrial comes a day after the jury convicted Weinstein on one count of criminal sex act involving Mimi Haley and acquitted him of another count of criminal sex act involving Kaja Sokola.
The third count related to an alleged assault on aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
All three women have publicly come forward and testified during the trial.
Farber said he spoke to the remaining jurors who told him they were “disappointed” they did not get to render a verdict on the third count.
“I will say they were extremely disappointed that deliberations ended before they reached a verdict,” Farber said.
The judge also said the remaining jurors did not describe anything like the discord and threats recounted by the foreman.
“They all thought they were involved in a normal discourse, and they don’t understand why the foreperson bowed out,” Farber said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office prosecuted the case, said they “immediately” informed the court Thursday that they are ready to try Weinstein again on the rape count after conferring with Mann.
“Harvey Weinstein is going to be held accountable for his conduct as to Miss Haley, and he’s facing a very significant term of imprisonment for that,” Bragg said during a press briefing Thursday. “But the jury was not able to reach a conclusion as to Miss Mann, and she deserves that.”
Bragg thanked the three women for their “immense sacrifices,” saying they “spent days on the witness stand sharing the most traumatic moments of their lives in a room full of strangers.”
“Their credibility and character were attacked during lengthy cross-examinations. They were accused of being money-hungry. They were called liars. They were even told that they in fact were the abusers,” he said. “But they stood their ground, and for that, I am extraordinarily grateful.”
An attorney for Weinstein, Arthur Aidala, said they plan to appeal the conviction in the retrial.
“We have very powerful evidence that there was gross juror misconduct at this trial,” Aidala told reporters outside the courthouse. “None of us have ever heard of that where a jury is so intimidated a grown man who was in good physical shape in his late 30s saying, I’m afraid to go back into the deliberating room.”
“If that doesn’t cast doubt on the verdicts here, I don’t know what would. This is not over,” he said.
Aidala further alleged jury misconduct, saying they found out that jurors were considering evidence not admitted at trial.
The foreperson told the judge on Monday that jurors were discussing Harvey Weinstein’s past, according to a transcript of the closed encounter in the judge’s chambers. When the judge summoned the entire jury that day, he reminded them to discuss only the evidence presented at trial and to be cordial.
Asked if he would be looking into the alleged jury malfeasance, Bragg said, “Vigorous and robust exchange of ideas within the jury room is a hallmark, an important hallmark, of our system. And so from what we’ve seen within the record, the jury notes and our observation, this is consistent with the administration of justice.”
Weinstein was being retried for sexually assaulting Haley and Mann after his earlier conviction was overturned on appeal. He was also charged with sexually assaulting Sokola, who was not part of the first trial.
Prosecutors said Weinstein “preyed” on the three women as “he held unfettered power for over 30 years” in Hollywood, while the defense countered the producer did not coerce the women and claimed they were using him for his connections.
Weinstein, 73, pleaded not guilty and has said his sexual encounters were consensual. He did not testify during the trial.
The split verdict and mistrial on the third count came after some discord in the jury room during deliberations.
Early Wednesday, the jury foreperson sent a note telling Farber he “cannot go back inside with those people.” That followed a closed-door conversation during which the foreperson complained to the judge that the jurors were “attacking” one another and fighting — adding, “I don’t like it” — according to a transcript.
Without the jury present, Weinstein addressed the judge on Wednesday and complained the jury behavior is depriving him of a fair trial.
“We’ve heard threats, we’ve heard fights, we’ve heard intimidation,” Weinstein said. “This is not right for me, the person on trial here.”
Farber had proposed a cooling-off period, then the jury came back in saying they had a verdict on the two criminal sex act counts.
They resumed deliberations on the rape count on Thursday, wtih Farber reminding the jurors to be respectful to one another.
Mann said in a statement Wednesday that she “laid bare my trauma” and “stood up and told the truth. Again and again.”
“I would never lie about rape or use something so traumatic to hurt someone,” she said.
New York’s highest court overturned Weinstein’s initial 2020 conviction on appeal last year, finding the trial judge “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”
Weinstein has also appealed his 2022 conviction on sex offenses in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison there.
Aidala said Thursday they are “very confident that that appeal will be successful.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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