Lawyers for Harvey Weinstein Call for NY Judge's Recusal in Criminal Trial
Comments by the judge upbraiding Weinstein for cellphone use in the courtroom, which Aidala describes as "so inflammatory, biased and prejudicial that they have virtually gone viral," were the first of five arguments for Burke's recusal in the motion.
January 08, 2020 at 02:15 PM
3 minute read
|
Lawyers for former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein filed a motion Wednesday seeking recusal of Judge James Burke from Weinstein's trial, which began Monday in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Weinstein, who is charged with rape and predatory sexual assault in New York, has said he is not guilty of all charges. The recusal motion was filed after jury selection ended for the day Wednesday, and Burke is not expected to respond before court resumes Thursday.
The motion, which is signed by defense lawyer Arthur Aidala of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins, describes comments Burke made in court early Tuesday, when he focused on Weinstein for using a cellphone in the courtroom.
"Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life?" Burke asked Weinstein after advising him to exercise his right to silence.
Aidala described Burke's comments as "so inflammatory, biased and prejudicial that they have virtually gone viral" and said it could be interpreted in two ways.
"Either the Court was suggesting that an appropriate sanction for use of a cell phone was life in prison, or the Court was suggesting that Mr. Weinstein is guilty, would surely be convicted, and that the Court already knew that it intended to sentence him to life in prison," Aidala wrote.
Aidala described the intense media attention focused on the trial as another reason for recusal, noting that Weinstein and his lawyers attempted to change the venue of the trial because of the "overwhelmingly negative pre-trial publicity and interest his case had received." That request was denied by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department in the fall.
The other three points in the motion echo arguments made in court this week.
Weinstein's lawyers objected to Burke limiting the number of people allowed to sit near the defense table, along with his refusal to expand the time available for voir dire or delay the trial altogether after the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office announced new sex crimes charges for Weinstein on the first day of his New York trial.
A spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
Read more:
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
© 2024 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 AllPost-Pandemic Increase in Live Events Prompts Need for Premise Liability Action
7 minute readAs Uncertainty Hovers Over PGA Merger, LIV Golf Hires Entertainment Industry Veteran as Legal Chief
'Rampant Piracy': US Record Labels File Copyright Suit Against French Distributor Believe
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Gibson Dunn Sued By Crypto Client After Lateral Hire Causes Conflict of Interest
- 2Trump's Solicitor General Expected to 'Flip' Prelogar's Positions at Supreme Court
- 3Pharmacy Lawyers See Promise in NY Regulator's Curbs on PBM Industry
- 4Outgoing USPTO Director Kathi Vidal: ‘We All Want the Country to Be in a Better Place’
- 5Supreme Court Will Review Constitutionality Of FCC's Universal Service Fund
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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