Landmark moment
Legal hurdles may make Weinstein’s prosecution an exception
Harvey Weinstein’s arrest in New York Friday is a landmark moment in the #Metoo movement.
Yet as authorities work through dozens of cases against famous figures in entertainment and other industries brought on by the Weinstein-inspired wave that began in October, legal hurdles may make such prosecutions the exception.
While men including Kevin Spacey and Mario Batali remain under investigation, the next round of charges could well be against Weinstein again, who also is facing scrutiny from authorities in Los Angeles and London.
One expert said prosecutors in those jurisdictions are unlikely to stand down or shift priorities knowing that Weinstein is now charged with rape and another felony sexual assault in New York, where he pleaded not guilty Friday.
“You never know what’s going to happen with the case there,” said Stacey Honowitz, a longtime prosecutor of sex crimes in Broward County, Florida. “We don’t go easy. Nobody’s going to drop the ball and let New York do it.”
She said it is more likely that authorities in other cities will be energized, and able to build off the charges.
“There’s always strength in numbers,” Honowitz said.
Stanley Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said last month’s
conviction of Bill Cosby’s for sexual assault dating to 2004 has likely been propelling prosecutors forward in other places.
“I think perhaps the Bill Cosby conviction really gave them hope that the atmosphere may have changed, in the older cases where this has been hard to prove, that maybe they’ve got more of a chance now,” Goldman said Friday.
Yet finding prosecutable #Metoo cases has proven difficult.
Los Angeles police said in December that they were investigating 27 entertainment figures, but none have yet resulted in arrests. And LA County prosecutors launched a task force in November to evaluate cases, but so far it has brought no charges.
The biggest obstacles by far are statutes of limitations, which have had special prominence amid the #Metoo and Time’s Up movements because so many of the incidents involve women working up the
courage to come forward after years of silence.
Hundreds of women have alleged varying degrees of sexual misconduct from Oscarnominated writer and director James Toback, yet prosecutors declined in April to bring criminal charges against him in the five cases they reviewed, citing expired statutes of limitations in every case.
California, joining other states, recently eliminated its statute of limitations for rape, making the law a closer match for the #Metoo era, but most cases from before the changes are unaffected.
Goldman said in the past the principle has been that it’s disruptive and unbalancing to society to go back and prosecute older crimes.
“If you’re dealing with Kevin Spacey,” Goldman said, describing the thinking, “it’s disruptive to pull somebody like that out of society after all these many years where people have worked for them, and are supported by them.”
“I think perhaps the Bill Cosby conviction really gave them hope that the atmosphere may have changed, in the older cases where this has been hard to prove, that maybe they’ve got more of a chance now.”
Stanley Goldman, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles