Weinstein fails in bid to get charges dismissed
NEW YORK: Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial will proceed, clearing the way for the man whose alleged actions set off the #MeToo movement to face a legal reckoning.
The judge in the case on Thursday denied the defence’s motion to dismiss the charges against the disgraced movie mogul because of what it alleged was both improper behaviour by prosecutors and the police in the case.
“The court finds that there is no basis for the defendant’s claim of prosecutorial or law enforcement misconduct,” wrote the judge, James Burke of New York Criminal Court, in his sixpage ruling.
Weinstein is facing five felony charges, including counts of first- and third-degree rape, for alleged incidents involving two women. A sixth count stemming from an instance involving a third woman was earlier dismissed because of how a police officer handled evidence.
The defence, led by highprofile New York attorney Benjamin Brafman, had been seeking a dismissal on Thursday on all five charges because it said the case was “irreparably tainted by police misconduct” as well as “pervasive falsity and professional misconduct in and around the grand jury.”
Brafman had alleged that former lead investigator Detective Nicholas DiGaudio had improperly intervened with alleged victims and withheld information from prosecutors, calling the detective a “serial obstructer” in a court filing. He had also claimed that prosecutors did not sufficiently tell grand jurors about contact that an alleged victim had with Weinstein.
In his ruling, though, Burke said that to warrant dismissal police conduct would need to violate the “integrity of the proceeding” and hurt the defendant as a result, which it did not. And he said the prosecution’s presentation to the grand jury passed muster because of the essential nature of the proceeding and the lighter burden it placed on prosecutors. “They are not obligated to search for evidence favourable to the defence or to present all evidence in their possession favourable to the accused,” the judge wrote
The defence had also requested a separate hearing to determine if the police handled the evidence correctly. Burke rejected that, as well, saying that Weinstein’s team “does not provide a legal or factual basis to request such hearings.”
The proceedings in the downtown Manhattan courtroom Thursday morning were brief. After Weinstein, wearing a dark suit and a serious demeanour, was led into the courtroom, Burke convened both the prosecution and defence teams for a bench conference. The conversation was not public.
Approximately 10 minutes later, he dismissed everyone until Mar 7, when a pretrial hearing will take place. The ruling was released shortly after.
Among the felony charges Weinstein faces in addition to the rape charges are two counts of predatory sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree. The charges stem from allegations that Weinstein raped a woman in a New York hotel room in 2013 and forced another woman to perform oral sex on him in his Manhattan apartment in 2006. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty.
Weinstein, the brash longtime producer and distributor of numerous Oscar-winning films, was accused by more than 80 women of sexual misconduct in reports in the New York Times, New Yorker and other publications beginning last year. The allegations kickstarted accusations against many powerful men in the entertainment and other industries and helped create both the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements.
Weinstein’s case has been watched closely by activists and Hollywood as a trial balloon for future criminal proceedings against alleged abusers in the entertainment and other industries. No other men who have first been accused of sexual misconduct since the movement began last year have been held to criminal account, though there have been other non criminal consequences.
Earlier this week, former CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves was denied a large severance payout by the CBS board after a report from outside law firms found “wilful and material malfeasance” involving sexual misconduct by the former executive.
A number of Time’s Up figures from Hollywood were at the courthouse as well, including the actors Marisa Tomei and Amber Tamblyn, though none spoke.
Lisa Borders, head of Time’s Up, briefly addressed reporters.
“Frankly we are relieved that Harvey Weinstein failed in his efforts to avoid accountability for his actions. We’re very happy none of the charges were dismissed,” she said outside the courthouse.
Brafman, Weinstein’s lawyer, told reporters after the hearing he was “obviously disappointed” in Burke’s ruling but said the decision should not reflect on his client’s guilt. “I think Mr. Weinstein will be exonerated,” he said.
Brafman also said he believed this trial was “not about the MeToo movement — this is about defending a particular criminal case.”
Speaking to reporters, attorney Gloria Allred, who represents one of the two alleged Weinstein victims, said she was happy with the ruling.
“Weinstein should have his day in court but so should the two women alleged to be the victims,” she said.
Allred noted she believed other Weinstein accusers may be able to testify at the trial in the manner of the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial, at which she represented more than 30 accusers not involved in the case.
In the meantime, she said, she believes the legal motions filed by the defence have another goal in mind.
“It appears to me Mr. Weinstein’s public relations team is working overtime to potentially impact the jury pool,” she said. — WPBloomberg
Frankly we are relieved that Harvey Weinstein failed in his efforts to avoid accountability for his actions. We’re very happy none of the charges were dismissed. Lisa Borders, head of Time’s Up movement