Judge BLOCKS Harvey Weinstein’s motion to recuse him from his rape trial after the justice threatened to jail the mogul for texting - as jury selection heads into its third day with a pool of 66 potential jurors
FTA:
Jury selection is expected to stretch on for at least two weeks, far longer than for a non-celebrity trial, with lawyers delving into each potential juror’s knowledge and opinions about the case. Twelve jurors and six alternates need to be selected.
‘The defense team is concerned about widespread media coverage of sexual assault and harassment claims against Weinstein, and of jurors prejudging the case,’ said Cornell University law professor Valerie Hans. On the other side of the case, ‘prosecutors are wary of prospective jurors who might reveal a predisposition to blame the victims, even in this age of #MeToo.’
In picking a jury, defense lawyers typically want jurors who can ‘think outside of the box’ and look skeptically at a prosecution case, while prosecutors seek people with a linear and methodical mindset, said Thaddeus Hoffmeister, a jury consultant and University of Dayton law professor.
For insight into prospective jurors’ thinking, lawyers have taken to scouring their public social media postings, Hoffmeister said, which is fine under court rules as long as the lawyers don’t follow or friend them or send them messages.
Ukrainian jet that crashed in Tehran ‘WAS hit by an Iranian missile in what was likely an accident, Pentagon and US intelligence officials say’
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashed outside of Tehran on Wednesday, killing all 176 on board
US intelligence are ‘confident’ the airliner was shot down by Iran after detecting two missile launches
Pentagon officials said missiles likely fired in error by crews on alert for US response to Iran rocket strike
Iran claims that the crash was the result of mechanical error and that black box may have been ‘damaged’