The jury in Danny Masterson’s rape trial has resumed deliberations with two new members after a pair of positive Covid tests among the panel this morning.
09.11.2022 - 22:51 / deadline.com
Lisa Marie Presley will not be taking the stand in Danny Masterson’s rape trial.
Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told LA Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo and the defense this morning that the prosecution had decided not to call Presley after all.
Though set on the witness list for weeks, the scope of the testimony of the former prominent Scientologist was severely limited yesterday by Judge Olmedo. Not allowed to speak on potential obstruction of justice by the Church of Scientology in the alleged sexual assault of Jane Doe #1 by the That ‘70s Show actor in 2003, Presley’s stint on the stand would have been limited to what she knew or did not know about the rape claims directly from friend Jane Doe #1. Testimony that clearly wasn’t worth it to the D.A.
Having fought consistently to keep almost any reference to Scientology out of the trial, Masterson’s defense argued high profile Presley allegations are not “relevant here” and “too vague to be helpful.”
It is alleged that Presley was asked by church officials to persuade Jane Doe #1/Jen B not to report the assault to the police. However, in an interview with the D.A.’s office last week, Presley now says she cannot accurately recall if Scientology asked her to “smooth things over.” In fact, at one point several months ago, attorneys for Presley indicated to prosecutors that their client may take the fifth on the whole matter.
Exiting Scientology almost a decade ago, Presley supposedly contacted Jane Doe #1 in 2014 to say sorry for not being more supportive of her and her claims against fellow Scientologist Masterson almost 20 years ago. That apology would not be allowed to be revealed to the jury under Judge Olmedo’s ruling if Presley had taken the stand
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The jury in Danny Masterson’s rape trial has resumed deliberations with two new members after a pair of positive Covid tests among the panel this morning.
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Dark for the past two days, Danny Masterson’s rape trial resumed Wednesday with testimony from Jane Doe #2 about the former That ‘70s Show star’s alleged assault of her in 2003. However, before the last of the trio of women at the heart of the case had her time on the stand today, the defense accused former Scientologist and The King of Queens star Leah Remini of potentially denying their client a “fair trial.”
Harvey Weinstein’s trial on rape allegations entered its second week with some discussion of how quickly the proceedings are moving.
A former high-ranking official in the Church of Scientology said Friday that the organization never forgets its enemies “until they are destroyed,” and he said that filmmaker Paul Haggis, who quit Scientology, remains one of its biggest targets.
The judge at the center of Harvey Weinstein’s Los Angeles sexual assault trial concluded its first week of hearing testimony by admonishing the jury not to watch the trailer for She Said, the upcoming Universal movie about the events surrounding the New York Times’ investigation of Weinstein that led to its bombshell 2027 exposé and the start of the #MeToo movement.
UPDATED with afternoon session: A Los Angeles police officer testified Thursday during Danny Masterson’s rape trial that while didn’t remember the specifics of an initial meeting with Jane Doe #1 in 2004 at the LAPD Hollywood station, he did take her claims about being attacked by Masterson in his Hollywood Hills home in April 2003 “to be a sexual assault.”
Determined to expunge almost any mention of Scientology from Danny Masterson’s rape trial, defense attorney Phillip Cohen told the jury from the beginning that consistency would be core of his client’s case. That vow was very much on display Thursday as the lawyer sought to spotlight the supposed inconsistencies in the testimony of Jane Doe #3.
A fourth Jane Doe testifying in the sexual assault civil trial of filmmaker Paul Haggis said Thursday that she was the target of an “attempted rape” by Haggis outside of her apartment building at night after an event at the Toronto Film Festival in 2015.