Harvey Weinstein's request for delay in his rape and sexual assault trial because of ‘She Said’ movie rejected by Judge

     

 

A judge has rejected a bid to delay disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein's rape and sexual assault trial in Los Angeles until after a controversial movie about his case comes out in November.

LA Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench ruled that the trial of Weinstein accused of 11 sexual assaults against five women will go ahead as scheduled, starting October 10.

 

“I’m not [postponing] the trial,” Judge Lisa Lench said Monday, according to Variety, rejecting the disgraced mogul’s lawyers’ argument that the doc would unduly influence the jury pool. “We’ll just have to deal with it.”

With 269 people on the prosecution's witness list, the trial is expected to last six to eight weeks.

In his motion to delay the trial, Weinstein's attorney, Mark Werksman argued that a 'firestorm of publicity' about the upcoming Brad Pitt-produced film She Said could 'prejudice the jury' against the one-time movie big-shot.

She Said, opening in theaters on November 18, stars Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who wrote an exposé on Weinstein in 2017.

Werksman said billboards, other advertising, and social media about the movie will highlight the 'lurid and negative aspects of this case' and could influence a jury against his client.

But, as Weinstein, in brown prison overalls, sat in a wheelchair in court on Monday, Judge Lench refused Werksman's request to postpone the trial until at least January to allow publicity about the movie to die down.

According to Variety, Weinstein’s attorneys also asked the judge to look into getting his missing teeth replaced while in jail so he does not appear “indigent” as a witness. The judge said she would consider the matter but did not commit to granting improved dental care for the disgraced Oscar winner.