Thursday, March 28

Weinstein’s request to postpone his trial in Los Angeles rejected

Lisa B. Lench, judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court of Justice, has rejected on Monday Harvey Weinstein’s request to postpone the trial scheduled for October 10 in which the film producer will face eleven charges of rape and sexual assault about five victims.

Weistein had requested to modify this date due to a possible conditioning of this legal process after the premiere of the feature film she said, whose plot deals with the investigation with which his profile as a sexual predator came to light. A film based on the best-selling book published by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, reporters for The New York Times, and produced by Brad Pitt.

This film will premiere worldwide as part of the New York Film Festival, which takes place between September 30 and October 16.

For his part, jury selection in the Los Angeles trial is expected to last two weeks and opening statements are set for Oct. 24, in a legal battle that is expected to drag on for months.

The defense of the producer of films like pulp fictionled by attorney Mark Werksman, tried to argue that both social media and the film’s various promotional strategies “will drastically harm the chance that the trial will proceed fairly.”

However, the main prosecutor in the case, Paul Thompson, argued that the film will probably be nominated for the next awards season, which will be held between February and March, so that, even if it were postponed, the trial would again collide with the commercial distribution and publicity of the film.

In addition, Werksman also noted that the New York Court of Appeals agreed last week to hear Weinstein’s appeal of his conviction in New York, and that the Los Angeles trial should be delayed until the Court of Appeals has resolved the case in New York. the east coast.

A year ago, Weinstein was transferred to a California prison from central New York where he was serving time after being convicted in 2020 of various sex crimes and spending 23 years behind bars.

Likewise, the eleven charges for which he is accused in California refer to events that occurred between 2004 and 2013. If he were convicted of all the crimes, the producer could receive a sentence of another 140 years in prison.

Weinstein’s conviction in New York marked a major triumph for the #MeToo movement in its feminist fight against sexual abuse and assault.

In total, more than 80 women have accused the former producer of sexual crimes and misconduct.



www.eldiario.es