Weinstein rape retrial to open, with majority-female jury

Opening statements are set for Wednesday in former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein s rape retrial this time with a majority-female jury deciding the landmark MeToo matter After a dayslong selection process yielded a seven-woman five-man jury and five alternate jurors by Monday prosecutors and Weinstein s lawyers finished choosing a sixth and final alternate on Tuesday Alternates step in if a member of the main panel can t see the trial through The main jury is more female than the five women and seven men who convicted Weinstein at his first trial five years ago The verdict marked a signature moment for the MeToo movement against sexual misconduct which had been fueled in by a slew of assertions against Weinstein then a high-flying movie producer of a string of Oscar winners including Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love But in a reversal that dismayed MeToo activists New York s highest court last year overturned Weinstein s conviction and -year prison sentence The court detected that the original trial judge allowed prejudicial testimony That judge s term expired in and he is no longer on the bench HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S COMPANY STRESSES SEX CRIME RETRIAL COULD LEAD TO DEATH REQUESTS HOSPITAL STAYWeinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone Drawn from Manhattan s jury pool the members of the main jury for the New York retrial include a physics researcher a photographer a dietitian a therapist an outlay bank tool engineer and a fire safety director Others have experience in real estate TV commercials debt collection social work and other fields One has a high school equivalency degree Others have master s degrees Particular have served as jurors or grand jurors multiple times before others never Hundreds of other likely jurors were excused for reasons ranging from language blockades to strong opinions about Weinstein the first word that came in my head was pig noted one man who was soon let go Those chosen were quizzed about their backgrounds life experiences and various other points that could relate to their ability to be fair and impartial about the highly publicized incident You may hear sexual statements here of a salacious nature graphic perhaps Would hearing that indicate that Mr Weinstein must be guilty defense attorney Mike Cibella inquired one prospective juror on Monday The woman who ultimately was chosen answered no HARVEY WEINSTEIN MANDATED RESHOOTS MADE ACTRESS FEEL SLIMY Prosecutor Shannon Lucey sought assurances that prospective jurors could put aside any position or feelings they had about the MeToo movement Is there anyone who is going to think of the movement and think OK that s just something that I have to keep in the back of my mind when I m deciding this affair Everyone can put that aside Lucey solicited a group of practicable jurors All indicated they could do so Weinstein s rape and sexual assault retrial involves accusations from three women an aspiring actor who stated he raped her in and two women who made separate statements of forced oral sex in One of the two wasn t part of the original trial Meanwhile Weinstein is challenging a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles