Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Image of ‘harmless old man’ hangs over Weinstein trial
NEW YORK — Moments before opening statements in his landmark criminal trial last week, Harvey Weinstein entered the courtroom hanging onto another man’s arm, looking as if he’d collapse to the ground if left to walk on his own.
Moving slowly with a pronounced limp, the 67year-old disgraced Hollywood titan was led to the defense table. Other days, he would use a walker to reach his seat.
As Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Meghan Hast outlined the horrific acts Weinstein is accused of, she repeatedly described a very different version of the mogul — a hulking, towering figure who enjoyed an extreme height and weight advantage over the women he was accused of terrorizing.
“The man seated on that side of the courtroom, despite what your eyes are looking at, is not a harmless old man,” Hast said.
Through the first week of testimony at Weinstein’s sexual assault trial, prosecutors have continually asked witnesses to describe the mogul’s girth and physical stature in the early 1990s, 2006 and 2013 — the time frames in which three different women say Weinstein raped them in Manhattan.
Causing jurors to focus on images of a confident, 6-foot, 300-plus-pound version of Weinstein from back then, rather than the frail man struggling to stand on his own two feet now, could play a significant role in deliberations, legal experts say.
“If you’re not a fully functioning human, the judge or jury may make a conscious or subconscious calculation: that you can’t be held fully responsible for your actions,” said Wendy Murphy, a professor of sexual violence law at New England Law in Boston and a former sex crimes prosecutor.
Weinstein is charged with first-degree rape, two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of firstdegree sexual assault and one count of third-degree rape. He has denied all wrongdoing, and his attorneys have argued that each alleged assault was a consensual affair.
Weinstein underwent spinal decompression surgery in December, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, leaving him bent over and reliant on a walker. The mogul has said the surgery was needed because he developed severe back pain after he was involved in an August 2019 car crash in Bedford, New York.
Bedford police, however, have said Weinstein was not hospitalized as a result of the crash and that there were no injuries reported to them on the day of the accident.
Four of Weinstein’s accusers have taken the stand in the last week, and prosecutors have asked each to contrast their own slight frames with the mogul’s.
Pictures of the Miramax co-founder’s barrel-like build have been displayed on a projector between the jury box and the witness stand day after day, oftentimes dwarfing the women who were detailing their allegations just a few feet away.
As actress Annabella Sciorra recounted the night she says Weinstein forced his way into her apartment and raped her in 1993 or 1994, she described herself as a full foot shorter and nearly 200 pounds lighter than he was. At one point, prosecutors asked her to stand up and demonstrate why she couldn’t run past him to escape.
“He kept coming at me and I felt very overpowered because he was very big,” she said last week.
Weinstein and his associates have denied the back surgery was timed to have any influence on the trial.
“It was a back problem that grew more painful and worsened with every step he took after that accident, which eventually led to the need for the surgery,” said Juda Engelmayer, a spokesman for Weinstein. “There is no strategy on this.”