Donna Rotunno, Harvey Weinstein's defense attorney, arrives at a Manhattan courthouse on Thursday, Jan. 16. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP Donna Rotunno, Harvey Weinstein's defense attorney, arrives at a Manhattan courthouse on Jan. 16. (Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP)

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke ordered former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's defense team Monday to stop talking about the case in public, after prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon raised strenuous objections about an op-ed published in Newsweek Sunday.

In the op-ed, defense lawyer Donna Rotunno seemingly implored the members of Weinstein's jury to "do what they know is right." She told Burke, however, that the article was focused on systemic issues.

"If this is the conduct that is allowed to persist in this courthouse, Judge, then we are all lost," Illuzzi-Orbon told Burke. She said the op-ed bordered on jury tampering and violated the American Bar Association's Rules of Professional Conduct.

Burke asked Rotunno to respond directly after her colleague Damon Cheronis began defending the piece, explaining that jurors have already been instructed to avoid news about the trial.

"Judge, not only is it not improper but it also … is one small piece of a large media attack on Mr. Weinstein every single day," Rotunno said.

She also said the subject of the op-ed, headlined "Jurors in My Client Harvey Weinstein's Case Must Look Past the Headlines," was "the criminal justice system as a whole."

In response, Illuzzi-Orbon leapt to her feet and read part of the op-ed from her phone, saying she didn't agree that Rotunno had written a general criminal-justice piece because it addressed jurors directly. Even if she had, Illuzzi-Orbon said, the final weekend of the Weinstein trial is "not the time" to publish it.

Burke eventually responded by ordering attorneys to stop talking to the media and public until after the verdict.

"I would caution you about the tentacles of your public relations juggernaut," he added.

The jury in the case began deliberations today and came back with questions, including ones about the verdict sheet and the layout of one of Weinstein's homes. Jurors were dismissed in late afternoon without having arrived at a verdict.

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