Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse to attend jury selection in his trial on rape and sexual assault charges on Thursday, Jan. 16. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP

Seven jurors were seated in the criminal trial of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of predatory sexual assault and rape.

The seven were seated on the first day that void dire shifted to in-court questioning of prospective jurors.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Burke told the jurors that the trial would not be a referendum on sexual harassment, women's rights, or the #MeToo movement. Conversations on those subjects accelerated as dozens of women accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, but he has been criminally charged in just a handful of cases in New York and Los Angeles.

"You are, of course, allowed to have strongly held beliefs, but that is not the question [in this case]," Burke said.

Donna Rotunno, one of Weinstein's defense attorneys, asked potential jurors if they had heard anything positive about Weinstein.

"Let the record reflect that no hands have been raised," she said. One potential juror said positive things have, in fact, been said about Weinstein, while another mentioned his successful career in the movie business.

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

Thursday's pool of about 140 potential jurors was winnowed from six days of juror prescreening. During each day of prescreening, about 100 potential jurors answered basic questions about scheduling and their ability to be impartial.

Burke defended the process in court Thursday morning as he denied a defense motion for private one-on-one questioning with each potential juror.

"This voir dire is hardly business as usual," he said. "We are conducting a multiple-stage jury selection and voir dire, and it is in fact revealing the very individuals who should not serve."

A total of about 200 people got through the screening process and filled out juror questionnaires, but prosecutors and Weinstein's defense team agreed to dismiss about 60 potential jurors after receiving their questionnaires.

While hundreds of potential jurors have already been dismissed from the case, Burke called one man back into court Thursday morning and told him to prepare for a court date in March on a potential contempt charge. The man had tweeted about his potential role in the Weinstein case despite instructions not to do so, Burke said.

Opening statements in Weinstein's trial are scheduled to begin next week, though the former producer's defense team made another motion Thursday in the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department to move the trial out of New York City.

The First Department rejected a change-of-venue motion in the fall, but Weinstein's lawyers argued that their concerns about publicity surrounding the trial have been confirmed during its first days.

"Indeed, this is more than just press," they wrote in the motion. "It is a media and entertainment circus, with many non-press attendees outside the courthouse. The atmosphere inside the courtroom is frenzied."

In response to an earlier defense motion calling for his own recusal, in which Weinstein's lawyers raised some of the same concerns about publicity, Burke disagreed with this assessment of the courtroom atmosphere. He said reporters have been well-behaved and quiet, noting that the courtroom has not been full every day.

The First Department did not issue a ruling on the change-of-venue motion Thursday.