Harvey Weinstein trial on further sexual assault charges begins in Los Angeles

The trial of Harvey Weinstein began in Los Angeles on Monday, marking the second time the former Hollywood titan is in a courtroom on accusations of sexual assault.

Weinstein, now 70, is facing 11 sexual assault charges for alleged attacks against five women between 2004 to 2013 in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills. The accusations include forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, sexual battery by restraint and sexual penetration by use of force.

Jury selection, the first phase of the trial, started on Monday in Los Angeles superior court and is expected to last two weeks.

Weinstein, who is being held in a Los Angeles county jail, was brought into court in a wheelchair through a side door and climbed from it carefully into a seat next to one of his lawyers at the defense table. He was wearing a blue suit, which he is allowed to change into from his jail attire during the trial.

He stood with the rest of the room as the first panel of 67 prospective jurors were brought in, but he sat down about halfway through the process. He waved at them from his seat when his lawyers introduced them.

The jurors were given a lengthy questionnaire intended to screen out those who need to be dismissed. Both the questions and answers on the forms are private, but previous hearings have revealed that they contain questions on how much media coverage of Weinstein potential jurors have seen, and whether they have formed opinions from it, though the judge rejected questions on specific stories and media outlets.

The questionnaire also includes a question about a California law that says the testimony alone of a sexual assault victim can be sufficient evidence to convict if a juror believes them.

The jurors were also given a long list of names of witnesses in the coming trial, including those of the accusers to determine whether they have any connection to them. The initial witness list in the case had more than 270 names, though fewer than half that are expected. Most of the prospective witness list has not been made public.

One witness, Barbara Schneeweiss, a producer on Project Runway and other television shows, was present in court early on Monday and was told by a judge she was on call to come in at any time.

Two more panels of up to 75 jurors will be brought in on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Questioning of individual jurors is not expected to begin until next week.

Within weeks of the first revelations, nearly 90 women had come forward accusing Weinstein of inappropriate behavior and sexual violence in incidents that date back to the 1970s. Today, the former mogul has been publicly accused by more than 100 women.

Weinstein has been incarcerated since February 2020, when a New York jury convicted him of rape in the third degree for his assault on one woman and a criminal sex act in the first degree for forcing oral sex on Miriam Haley, a former Project Runway production assistant. A judge sentenced him to 23 years in prison.

Weinstein has long maintained his innocence.

If convicted in Los Angeles, Weinstein faces up to 140 years in prison. The proceedings are expected to last several weeks.