Harvey Weinstein to Face Testimony From Five Extra Witnesses, but Not Daryl Hannah or Rose McGowan
11.05.2022 - 22:21
/ variety.com
Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterA Los Angeles judge ruled on Wednesday that five additional witnesses will be allowed to testify against Harvey Weinstein at his upcoming rape trial, but excluded testimony from actresses Rose McGowan and Daryl Hannah.Prosecutors wanted to call 15 witnesses to testify about the producer’s “prior bad acts,” but the judge excluded 10 of them.The judge will also allow jurors to be told of Weinstein’s New York conviction involving the sexual assault of Miriam Haley, though Haley will not be called to testify in Los Angeles.Weinstein is facing 11 counts of rape and sexual assault pertaining to five alleged victims. The prosecution wants to call the additional witnesses to show that Weinstein had a propensity to commit sex crimes.
Mark Werksman, his defense lawyer, argued Wednesday that the witnesses would confuse the jury and serve merely to blacken his reputation.“The jury will be tempted to want to punish him for all the things they heard, whether they’re charged or not,” Werksman argued.Paul Thompson, the lead prosecutor, argued that it was not the D.A.’s fault that so many women were lining up to testify against Weinstein.“There is one person in this courtroom who is responsible for that,” he said. “That is Mr.
Weinstein’s responsibility. Mr.
Weinstein is the one who committed all of these offenses against so many women over so many years.”The D.A.’s motion and the defense’s opposition remain under seal. The witnesses were identified in court only by first names, though some were readily identifiable.Werksman said the prosecution was seeking to call “Daryl.”“The prosecution intends to introduce her testimony with the inflammatory purpose of trying to suggest that this man is so despicable,
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