The latest hearing in the sexual assault case of Hollywood legend Harvey Weinstein was delayed due to recent floods. According to Variety, the flooding led to a lockdown at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, a Los Angeles prison where the convicted rapist is currently behind bars. Mark Worksman, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, told members of the media sitting in the courtroom, “Just a routine delay.”
Judge Lisa B. Lench said that “It’s my understanding that there was a flood in the Twin Towers where Mr. Weinstein lives. Now it’s 9:40.” The hearing was earlier scheduled to begin at 8:30 am. It was the latest court date leading up to Weinstein’s long-awaited Los Angeles sexual assault and rape trial.
The hearing has now been extended by Judge Lench to August 10, but previously dealt with some cases regarding the defense’s summons to witnesses.
Variety reported that earlier this week, at another hearing of the case, Judge Lench decided to limit the amount of information Weinstein’s defense team can obtain for the upcoming trial. She approved the prosecution’s motion to cancel summons from four witnesses for their correspondence with one of the alleged victims, including personal emails and texts dating back to 2004.
However, at that hearing, the judge said that she would not prevent the defense from serving future summons to the victims and would not ask them to inform the prosecution of their efforts to serve.
On Friday morning, prosecutors heated up the discussion a bit by objecting to Weinstein’s attorney, Alan Jackson, who argued that defense has the right to summon witnesses without giving prosecutors advance notice.
Weinstein is scheduled to go to trial in L.A. on October 10. He faces 11 charges of raping and sexually assaulting five women, reports Variety.
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The trial comes after nationwide court delays due to the pandemic, after pleading guilty to rape and sexual assault at his New York trial in February 2020, during which Weinstein was in prison, serving nearly 2.5 years of his 23-year sentence so far. serving a sentence.
According to Variety, that decision was recently upheld by a New York appeals court in June. This ensured that the disgraced Hollywood producer would remain behind bars, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming LA trial.