After Gazing Down Jurors for Two Days in a Row, Harvey Weinstein’s Seat was Changed in Courtroom in Los Angeles

After staring straight into the eyes of the jury for two days, Harvey Weinstein was carried to another area of the Los Angeles courthouse. He is facing accusations of felony rape.

On July 21, 2021, the disgraced media magnate entered a not guilty plea to 11 sexual assault charges in a Los Angeles court. His current trial centres on claims made by five women, which he has denied.

Weinstein’s Wheelchair was Facing the Jury

Weinstein was seated next to his lawyers during his testimony on Thursday when county authorities discovered he was facing the jury. That is against LA County Sheriff’s Department regulations.

Insider’s request for a response from the department was not answered.

Weinstein was moved on Wednesday when a deputy with the LA County Sheriff’s Department noted that he was sitting incorrectly. Judge Lisa Lench gave his attorneys permission to roll him in his wheelchair over to their bench.

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Weinstein’s legal team requested that he remain, the Wrap reports, citing the difficulties of transferring his wheelchair and a lack of room at the defence bench.

The mistake with the seating comes after his defence team tried several times to show the jury a certain picture.

Weinstein’s attorneys had said before the trial that their client’s health was deteriorating in a county prison.

During jury selection, Weinstein’s legal team said that they were concerned about his passing away. Last year, Weinstein’s attorneys recommended that he get dental and eye surgery.

In their opening remarks, Weinstein’s lawyers urged the jury to consider his outward appearance. They asserted that Weinstein engaged in consensual intercourse and that sex in Hollywood is a “commodity.”

Sex was Commodity in Hollywood 

“The casting couch was there. Each person did it. He completed it. They succeeded, as each had something to gain from the other”, Weinstein’s lawyer Mark Werksman said on Monday.

In a risky move, Werksman tried to get the jury to think about Weinstein so he could prove his claim that Weinstein has connections in Hollywood.

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“Look at him now. He is neither George Clooney nor Brad Pitt. Do you believe that he attracted those lovely ladies only because he is attractive? ” During Monday’s opening statements, Werksman remarked. “No. They carried it out due to his might. “

By Thursday, Weinstein was dressed in a grey suit and could be seen glancing back and forth from his team’s bench to the jury and onlookers.

In 2020, a New York jury sentenced Weinstein to 23 years in jail after finding him guilty of third-degree rape and the forceful sexual assault of two women. If proven guilty in Los Angeles, he could get a further 135 years in prison.

The accusers claim that between 2004 and 2013, the events in the Los Angeles case took place at posh Los Angeles hotels.

This week, Jane Doe alleged that during an attack in 2013 at the Los Angeles Italia Film Festival, she was terrified Weinstein would murder her.

The prosecution says that some of the five accusers, like Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, would testify under fake names.