Deliberations at the California trial of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein are set to drag on for another week, with the jury apparently seeking direction on reviewing the evidence. The court is set to take recess on Thursday and Friday, but the jury is set to return on Monday for the ninth full day of deliberations, stretching past the length of the trial in New York City. The jury in the LA case had deliberated a total of about 28 hours through Monday, ending the day without reaching a verdict.
Six women have testified against Weinstein throughout the trial, and three of those witnesses have given evidence about alleged sexual abuse unrelated to the Times allegations, in what prosecutors hoped would be an indication of Weinstein’s past illicit behavior.
By Tuesday night, a jury in Los Angeles had deliberated longer than a New York jury did during Weinstein’s first criminal trial, which saw him convicted of felony sexual conduct and third-degree rape after deliberating for 26 hours. Weinstein’s sentence of 23 years in state prison in New York is up from a jury that found him guilty in February 2020 of first-degree sexual abuse and third-degree rape.
The jury had already focused on emails Weinstein sent regarding Annabella Sciorra, including one to a private Israeli spy agency that he hired to dig up dirt on potential accusers, while reporters were working on stories about allegations against him in 2017.
The jury, composed of nine men and three women, requested for testimony to be read back Monday when it reconvenes for deliberations. They’ve been evaluating the case for roughly 37 hours.
Across the hall from Weinstein’s trial, That ‘70s Show star Danny Masterson faced a trial over having allegedly raped three woman. The judge in that case declared a mistrial because jurors were “hopelessly deadlocked” after six days of deliberating. The jury favored acquittal on all three charges.
