/ CBS NEWS
Jury selection begins in Weinstein trial
What you need to know
- Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial kicked off in New York City on Monday.
- The disgraced media mogul is charged in New York with raping a woman in 2013 in a hotel in Manhattan and forcibly performing a sex act on another in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty and denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.
- While the trial focuses on the two women, some of the dozens of others who have accused the 67-year-old of sexual misconduct are expected to testify. It's not yet clear how many women will testify.
- Weinstein turned himself in to face the charges in New York in May 2018. He has been out on bail.
- He faces a maximum of life in prison if convicted.
- Weinstein is facing four new sex crime charges in Los Angeles that are based on a rape accusation from one woman and a sexual assault allegation from another. The separate incidents allegedly took place over a two-day period in 2013.
- As of Tuesday morning he had not commented on the L.A. charges, which were announced Monday.
- The L.A. proceedings won't start until Weinstein's trial in New York wraps up.
- More than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct, fueling the rise of the #MeToo movement.
Court adjourns for the day
Court adjourned for the day at 3:08 p.m.
About 120 potential jurors were questioned in total Tuesday, and of those, 36 received juror questionnaires and were told to report back to court on January 16. Those dismissed on Tuesday included 43 people who said they couldn't be impartial, and another 41 who had conflicts. Burke said many of those are full-time students.
Jury selection was expected to continue on Wednesday.
-Reporting by Cassandra Gauthier
More than 40 prospective jurors dismissed
More than 40 prospective jurors said they can't be impartial and were dismissed as of early Tuesday afternoon.
The judge said it was going to be a high-profile case and asked if anyone couldn't be impartial. That was when about 40 hands went up.
-Reporting by Cassandra Gauthier and The Associated Press
Judge scolds Weinstein for using a cellphone
Judge James Burke raised his voice and admonished the defendant and his legal team Tuesday, including defense attorney Arthur Aidala, over Weinstein's use of a cellphone. He said he never wants to see a cellphone in Weinstein's hand.
When Weinstein began to speak, Burke told him to be silent. He asked Weinstien if this is how he wants to "end up in jail," "by texting and violating a court order."
Burke said he was not looking for apologies, but for compliance.
The order of the day Tuesday is to begin the process of choosing 12 jurors and six alternates. About 500 prospective jurors could be questioned in total. The jury selection process is expected to take about two weeks.
-Reporting by Cassandra Gauthier
New L.A. charges could have "powerful" impact on New York trial
New York Times correspondent and CBS News contributor Jodi Kantor, who won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking the news about Weinstein, said the new sex crime charges announced Monday in Los Angeles are "an incredibly dramatic development."
"Weinstein is essentially now fighting charges on two fronts," Kantor told "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday. "The prosecutors are basically accusing him of hurting women day after day in L.A. And, remember that as jury selection starts in New York, the New York jury may know about what he's accused of doing in Los Angeles."
Kantor said the two cases could affect each other in unpredictable ways.
"First of all, there's a woman who's involved in both cases," Kantor said. "There are only two women at the basis of the New York charges, but the prosecutors can call other witnesses. One of those witnesses is also at the center of the L.A. allegations."
Showing a pattern with the other witnesses' testimony could be devastating for Weinstein's case, Kantor said.
"The nature of the Harvey Weinstein allegations is these women who are strangers to one another, who didn't know each other, they're telling very similar stories about the same man over and over again," Kantor said. "That's really powerful."
But, according to Kantor, Weinstein's defense team does have at least one thing on their side.
"The jury has to be unanimous to convict," Kantor said. "When is the last time that 12 people you know agreed on these really complicated matters about sex and power? So they may be able to create some doubt about exactly what happened and about consent in the jury's mind."