Harvey Weinstein will be found guilty of three sex crimes next week; The LA jury returned a mixed verdict last month

UPDATE, 11:25 a.m.: Harvey Weinstein, who was convicted by a Los Angeles jury last month of multiple sex crimes, will learn his fate in prison next week.

A hearing for the Oscar winner’s trial has officially been set for January 9 by LA Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench. Weinstein was jailed for 23 years before his 2020 trial in New York, but faces another 18 years behind bars in the West Coast case.

The East Coast case is currently being appealed, and sources tell me the West Coast lawsuit will be appealed soon.

When the initial charges against him were dropped in mid-November of last year, the mixed verdict against the much-accused Weinstein was based on grand jury indictments of two counts of rape and five counts of assault in LA County incidents over a nine-year period . Year starting 2004. Weinstein was extradited to the City of Angels in the summer of 2021 and has since been held at DTLA’s Twin Towers Correctional Facility.

EARLY, 19:00 DEC: Harvey Weinstein was partially convicted of multiple sex crimes by a jury in Los Angeles today.

Just read in a downtown courtroom, the panel found the producer guilty of all charges related to Jane Doe #1, not guilty of sexually assaulting Jane Doe #2, and found guilty of charges against Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe No. aka California First, suspended partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Weinstein currently faces 18 to 24 years in prison based on Monday’s guilty pleas.

With Weinstein in court, the mixed verdict left the jury down 10-2 in Jane Doe #2’s case and 8-4 on guilt in Jane Doe #4/Newsom’s case. As usual in cases where a unanimous verdict is required, a mistrial was instituted on the charges on which the panel could not reach a clear decision. Based on Weinstein’s previous sentencing in early 2020 in New York, and what sources close to the producer camp tell me, there is no doubt that the verdict will be appealed in LA soon.

After the initial charges against the Oscar winner were dropped on November 15, Weinstein faced a grand jury indictment on two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault in LA County incidents from 2004 to 2013.

Weinstein, 70, pleaded not guilty to all 11 original sexual assault charges shortly after his extradition to the City of Angels in the summer of 2021. 60 years to live plus five. In March 2020, the much-accused Weinstein was sentenced by a Manhattan jury to 23 years in prison for multiple sex crimes. This case is now on appeal.

The West Coast panel of eight men and four women made its decision today, more than two weeks after the jury first began deliberating behind closed doors. It seemed strangely quiet during those 41 hours, as the jury did not seek clarification of the allegations or answers to questions from Judge Lisa Lench or the attorneys. The only rumblings from the jury room in recent days appeared to be from a deputy on Dec. 9, who wanted to go home because of upcoming travel plans — the request was denied after objections from Weinstein’s defense team.

However, it was revealed on December 13 that the jury actually had some questions earlier this month and requested a review of non-Jane Doe’s testimony on December 7. The filings released by the LA Superior Court did not reveal what the questions were or whose testimony the panel is seeking. Unlike the LASC judge in Danny Masterson’s recent rape trial, Judge Lench, who conferred with attorneys by email, did not alert the media or others to the jury’s requests and did not allow spectators in her courtroom to watch the case. not to look. On the 10th day of deliberations and back from a four-day weekend, there was another jury rehearsal this morning, which lasted from just after 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., court officials said.

Today’s ruling is also something of a quick win for the LA County District Attorney’s office after its recent tinkering with the Masterson rape case. The criminal proceedings against the former That show from the 1970s star resulted in a mistrial on November 30 and a victory for the plaintiff, at least until a new trial is likely scheduled for next year.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed that the jury was split on some counts, but I hope that the partial verdicts bring at least some justice to the victims,” ​​LA County District Attorney George Gascón said in a court filing Monday afternoon. and political affiliation said. “Our team will meet to determine whether we intend to refile the pending charges,” the lead prosecutor added.

Over the course of the often explicit and gruesome five-week Weinstein trial, the jury heard from all four Jane Does in the case, including scathing testimony from Jennifer Siebel Newsom, now California’s first partner. A total of eight women, including so-called “past evil” witnesses, took the stand to tell their stories of alleged assaults and other heinous offenses by the former tycoon.

In closing arguments late last month and with Weinstein nearby in court, Assistant Prosecutor Marlene Martinez bluntly called the accused a “degenerate rapist” and described his sexual and psychological “reign of terror” over women for decades.

On the other hand, attorney Alan Jackson predictably continued Weinstein’s team’s attack, attack, attack tactics.

Dismissing Newsom’s potentially crucial testimony as “a theatrical, over-dramatized performance,” Jackson tried to persuade the jury in his closing argument that the prosecution had nothing against his client and failed to make a case above beyond reasonable doubt. “Believe me it ever happened or believe me I did not agree to it,” the lawyer said in court on December 1 of the prosecutor’s case and Jane Does’ testimony. “The truth is immutable. It’s not a feeling It’s not a whim. It’s not a hashtag,” he added, taking a clear jab at the #MeToo movement, which embodies his client in a predatory sense.

Weinstein has struggled with a plethora of health issues and has been behind bars at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility downtown since being released last year from the Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, NY, where he served his NYC sentence, in LA ended up