Days before his trial is set to start and deep into jury selection, Harvey Weinstein's lawyers just filed an appellate motion seeking to move his trial from Manhattan and delay the start of the proceedings. Both requests had been denied by the trial judge in the case. More tk.
Weinstein's appellate motion is a masterpiece of hyperbole. It decries the "carnival-atmosphere" that has surrounded the trial so far, noting the appearance of flash mobs, celebrity accusers and the supermodel Gigi Hadid.
One section of the motion is entitled, "The Unprecedented Media Spectacle That Is The Weinstein Trial."
600-700 potential jurors have so far been called to court for a prescreening process. Of those 142, the lawyers note, have filled out detailed questionnaires. The lawyers argue that 130 of the questionnaires suggest that the filler-outers already knew about the trial b4 arriving.
One potential juror, the lawyers note, has a book coming out this summer about, in part, "predatory older men." Another juror, tweeted last week asking if anyone could help him leverage his jury service to promote his own new book--"a witty black comedy," he wrote.
The lawyers complained to the appeals court that Weinstein faces "a daily gauntlet of reporters, gawkers and negative backlash as he makes his way to court each day." Some among the media, they said, "arrive in their various perches as early as 5 a.m."
Various perches.
It's not the first time Weinstein's lawyers have tried to move the trial from NYC. Justice James Burke who is hearing the case denied a similar request in October. A few days ago in fact Burke said that, despite the defense's complaints, jury selection was going fairly smoothly.
Now there will be a weird split-screen process where jury selection will continue on Thursday as usual in state supreme court even as the 1st Dept appeals court hears arguments to stay the trial and move it out of the city.
But that's the Weinstein trial...
But that's the Weinstein trial...
