Harvey Weinstein struck out in his attempt on Thursday to get a new judge assigned to his rape trial in New York.
Attorneys for the movie mogul accused Justice James Burke of being prejudicial after he threatened Weinstein earlier this week with jail time for using his cell phone in court. However, Burke was having none of it and refused to step down.
On Tuesday, Burke scolded Weinstein, telling him, “I could not implore you more not to answer the following question: is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of a court order?” In a motion, Weinstein’s lawyers said Burke’s warning was “prejudicial and inflammatory” and were shaping a media narrative about the movie producer’s guilt.
“I certainly never actually meant that I was going to put your client in jail for life, nor did I mean that I had pre-judged whether he is guilty or not-guilty or innocent of the charges,” Burke said, adding, “All I meant to do was scare him enough for him to discontinue using his phone. The court does not know the verdict and has not made a call on what it might or might not be…I certainly don’t know what the evidence is likely to be or how it’s likely to be perceived by the jurors.”
Burke also took exception to Weinstein’s legal team’s attempt to paint the courthouse as a “circus-like” atmosphere, one that made it impossible for their client to get a fair trial.
Popular on Variety
“There has not been a carnival atmosphere,” Burke said. “Everybody has been very well behaved. And as for inside the courtroom, it has been a very modest and moderate atmosphere. The press are to be applauded on how well they have maintained themselves. They have done absolutely nothing thus far to cause any stir.”
The courtroom was only half full on Thursday, although initial hearings did attract a flurry of reporters and photographers.
Weinstein is facing life in prison over criminal charges that he raped woman in a New York hotel room in 2013, and forcibly performed oral sex on another woman in his Manhattan apartment in 2006. That’s not his only legal issue. Los Angeles prosecutors charged Weinstein on Monday with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another in 2013. He faces up to 28 years in prison if convicted.
The Weinstein trial in New York is struggling to find jurors who are willing to be impartial. There’s been a swirl of media coverage around the mogul since dozens of women came forward in 2017 accusing him of sexual abuse and assault. Nearly 100 potential jurors have already been dismissed with many claiming they had already decided that Weinstein was guilty.