Harvey Weinstein gets mistrial on rape charge after jury drama spirals out of control
Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes retrial ended with no verdict on a rape charge Thursday as the jury foreperson refused to continue deliberating because of alleged threats from another juror — just one day after the disgraced Miramax mogul was convicted on a more serious sex rap.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber ruled that the deadlocked jury had not been able to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Weinstein, 73, raped former actress Jessica Mann inside a Midtown hotel room in 2013.
'Sometimes jury deliberations become heated. I understand this particular deliberation was more heated than some others. That's unfortunate,' Farber told the panelists, before finding a mistrial on the rape charge.
The decision to call an end to the eight-week trial came after chaotic deliberations in which the panel of seven women and five men ultimately delivered a split verdict Wednesday, convicting Weinstein of one count of criminal sex act in the first degree and acquitting on a second count of that same rap.
Jury dysfunction broke out last week when one juror expressed that 'playground' bullying was happening during deliberations — which leaked into the following days as the foreperson, Juror No.1, claimed that a fellow panelist verbally threatened him, telling him, 'I would meet you outside one day.'
The judge ordered the jury to 'cool off' Wednesday, pausing deliberations before the partial verdict was delivered. He ordered the jurors to keep weighing the rape charge Thursday — and in the morning summoned the foreperson to the courtroom to ask him if he was able to continue working with the others.
'No, I'm sorry,' the juror said.
Weinstein, who has often been reserved to moderate expressions from his black wheelchair, clapped three times when the juror refused to head back into deliberations.
The judge said after in court that he spoke with others on the panel, who told him they were 'extremely disappointed' in not being able to finish their duty — while also pouring water on the foreperson's claims that deliberations were as toxic as they seemed.
'They did not describe anything that rose to the level of threats,' the judge said.
As jurors were leaving the courthouse, several expressed frustration with deliberations and criticized the jury foreman, calling the jury dysfunction 'overblown.'
The jury was hung on whether to convict Weinstein of rape in the third degree for allegedly assaulting Mann, who sobbed on the stand while describing the rape, and seeing Weinstein's erection-inducing drug needle in the trash afterward.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg said prosecutors were ready to roll and retry Weinstein for the third time on Mann's accusation. But Weinstein's attorney, Arthur Aidala, asked for the charge to be dismissed.
The judge set a hearing for July 2 to schedule a trial date.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg explained that his decision to retry the case for the third time was for 'survivors.'
'Harvey Weinstein is going to be held accountable for his conduct as to Ms. Haley, and he's facing a very significant term of imprisonment for that,' Bragg said at a press conference. 'But the jury was not able to reach a conclusion as to Jessica Mann, and she deserved that.'
Mann said in a statement that she will go to bat for prosecutors and testify for a third time against Weinstein.
'I will never give up on myself and making sure my voice – and the truth – is heard. I have told the District Attorney I am ready, willing and able to endure this as many times as it takes for justice and accountability to be served. Today is not the end of my fight,' Mann said.
Weinstein was convicted of criminal sex act in the first degree Wednesday for assaulting Miriam 'Mimi' Haley, a former TV production assistant, at his Soho loft in 2006.
Jurors acquitted Weinstein of the same charge pertaining to the alleged rape of former Polish model Kaja Sokola, who testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at a Tribeca hotel in 2006, days shy of her 20th birthday.
Weinstein faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison for the conviction of first-degree criminal sex act. The rape charge he faces carries a potential sentence of up to four years in prison.
The producer perv has also been sentenced to 16 years in California for raping an Italian model at a film festival in 2013.
He was initially found guilty at trial in 2020 of criminal sex act and rape and given a 23-year prison sentence — but New York's highest court tossed the conviction last year.
Weinstein's attorney, who bemoaned over-and-over about how ex-Miramax studio boss wasn't getting a fair trial, said that they will appeal the partial conviction.
'We have very powerful evidence that there was gross juror misconduct at this trial,' Aidala said.
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