The jury in Harvey Weinstein‘s New York retrial reached a partial mixed verdict on Wednesday, June 11, finding the disgraced former movie mogul guilty of one count of criminal sexual assault against former “Project Runway” assistant Miriam Haley and not guilty of a separate count of criminal sexual assault against model Kaja Sokola, per reporting in the Associated Press. The jury has yet to reach a verdict on a third charge of third-degree rape against aspiring actress Jessica Mann, and is expected to resume deliberations on Thursday.
The retrial of Weinstein’s criminal case in New York was prompted by an April 2024 ruling from the New York Court of Appeals that deemed “egregious errors” were made in Weinstein’s 2020 trial, in which he was found guilty of assaulting Haley and committing third-degree rape against Mann. Regardless of how the New York retrial plays out, Weinstein is still serving a 16-year prison sentence following his conviction on three counts of rape and sexual assault in his 2022 Los Angeles trial.
Arguments about juror safety have become a key sticking point in the re-trial. As the jury deliberated on Monday, the foreperson approached Judge Curtis Farber to discuss a private matter, per the AP. The judge later explained that the juror did not want to return to the deliberation room. “He said words to the effect of ‘I can’t go back in there with the other jurors,’” the judge said, adding that the juror was being pressured to change his position by other jurors. “He did indicate that at least one other juror made comments to the effect of ‘I’ll meet you outside one day,’ and there’s yelling and screaming.”
Weinstein’s lawyers saw the situation as cause to ask for a mistrial, with defense attorney Arthur Aidala saying “I don’t think the court is protecting this juror. Period.” But prosecutor Matthew Colangelo pushed back, saying that tense conversations are standard procedure during trials.
“He said he’d made up his mind, he didn’t want to change it, and people were pressuring him to change it. That’s what jury deliberations involve,” Colangelo said.
But the trial continued, and the jury began Wednesday by re-hearing Mann’s testimony about Weinstein’s alleged rape in 2013.
