Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan courthouse to attend jury selection for his trial on Jan. 17. Photo: Mark Lennihan/AP

Opening statements in the criminal trial of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein are expected to begin Wednesday in Manhattan Criminal Court, despite attempts from Weinstein's lawyers to move or delay the trial.

The judges in New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department rejected the defense team's motions for a change of venue and a stay Tuesday in a single-sentence order, echoing their refusal last fall to move the trial outside Manhattan.

News about Weinstein has traveled around the world, prosecutors in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had argued, so moving the trial to another county in New York was unlikely to make a big difference to the case.

Weinstein is charged with rape, criminal sexual act and predatory sexual assault, which in New York is defined as rape or a related act against multiple people or, alternatively, rape or a related crime involving a weapon or causing injury. He has pleaded not guilty.

The former movie producer's lawyers are expected to argue that his interactions with the women were consensual and, in at least some cases, transactional.

"Who here thinks that someone could have consensual sexual relations with someone at work to get ahead at work?" Arthur Aidala of Aidala Bertuna & Kamins asked potential jurors.

Another member of Weinstein's defense team, Damon Cheronis, asked jurors if someone "could have sex with someone that they may not find attractive for reasons other than love."

Starting in fall 2017, when The New Yorker magazine and the The New York Times each published investigations into Weinstein's interactions with women during his decades in the movie business, more than 100 women have reportedly accused the former producer of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Many said he threatened to derail their careers if they did not cooperate with his advances.

Despite the dozens of accusations, Weinstein has been criminally charged in New York and Los Angeles in just a handful of the cases.

After more than a week of juror prescreening, a jury of 12 Manhattan residents, consisting of seven men and five women, and three alternates were seated in just a day and a half. Judge James Burke told potential jurors that awareness of Weinstein's story would not disqualify them, but they would need to consider only the evidence they heard inside the courtroom.

Dozens of potential jurors were dismissed after saying they could not be objective in the case. Weinstein's lawyers repeatedly objected to the fact that the jurors saw a wall of news cameras both in the hallway outside the courtroom and around the courthouse doors, waiting to film every step Weinstein took outside the courtroom.

Burke dismissed the idea that the media had created a carnival-like atmosphere, saying at one point that reporters have been careful to follow the rules of the court.

The judge also appeared resigned to the fact that the trial has attracted protests. When noise from one street protest reached the 15th-floor courtroom, Burke noted that it was unlikely to be the last time.

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