First Department Rejects Venue Change in Harvey Weinstein Rape Trial
Attorneys with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office argued the move was a "transparent attempt" to delay the case by the movie mogul.
October 03, 2019 at 03:03 PM
3 minute read
Harvey Weinstein exits the state supreme court in Manhattan in April. Photo: Louis Lanzano/Bloomberg
A New York state appeals court on Thursday blocked Harvey Weinstein's bid to move his sex crimes trial out of Manhattan.
The New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department denied "in its entirety" Weinstein's motion to change venue ahead the trial, which is scheduled to begin Jan. 6.
Attorneys with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office argued the move was a "transparent attempt" to delay the case by the movie mogul.
Weinstein attorney Arthur Aidala had argued in an Aug. 16 filing that "New York City is the least likely place on earth where Mr. Weinstein could receive a fair trial" on revised charges of rape and sexual assault. The juror pool in Manhattan, they said, had been tainted by close media coverage and public pressure from politicians and activists.
Vance's office responded that such requests are only granted in the "rarest of cases" and that residents of Suffolk and Albany Counties had the same access to media sources as potential jurors in the city.
The filing also faulted Weinstein's attorneys for contributing to much of the media coverage in the case. While Weinstein's legal team was within its rights to give interviews, the attorneys are also "hard pressed to complain about a media frenzy or circus-like atmosphere" that they helped create," Assistant DA Harriett Galvin of the New York County DA's Office wrote in an Aug. 23 submission to the appeals court.
"This motion, lacking in any solid factual or legal basis, should be viewed as a transparent attempt to delay the proceedings, particularly because, from the beginning, the defendant's lawyers have contributed to the media coverage they now complain about by making extrajudicial statements about the case, portraying the defendant as a scapegoat who has been targeted by the 'Me Too' movement, thus employing the well-worn strategy of trying his case outside of the courtroom," she said.
A spokesman for Weinstein said his legal team would not be commenting on the ruling, and a spokesman for Vance's office declined to comment Thursday.
Read More:
Weinstein Evidence Will Remain Sealed, Manhattan Appeals Court Rules
Harvey Weinstein Assembles High-Profile, Non-NY Lawyers for New Defense Team
Judge Signs Off on Brafman's Motion to Bow Out as Harvey Weinstein's Defense Counsel
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Judge Denies Retrial Bid by Ex-U.S. Sen. Menendez Over Evidentiary Error
What Businesses Need to Know About Anticipated FTC Leadership Changes
7 minute read
Trending Stories
- 1'Ridiculously Busy': Several Law Firms Position Themselves as Go-To Experts on Trump’s Executive Orders
- 2States Reach New $7.4B Opioid Deal With Purdue After SCOTUS Ruling
- 3$975,000 Settlement Reached After Fall on Sidewalk
- 4'Where Were the Lawyers?' Judge Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
- 5Big Law Sidelined as Asian IPOs in New York Are Dominated by Small Cap Listings
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
