Harvey Weinstein's legal team tries to get judge, attorney Gloria Allred removed from proceedings

Harvey Weinstein is trying to distance people from his trial before it even begins.

Wednesday marked the third day of jury selection in the disgraced movie executive's rape trial, and it's already proving hard to keep anyone in the room. In addition to the dozens of potential jurors who've been disqualified from the case, Weinstein's legal team has also tried to get well-known attorney Gloria Allred and the judge who's overseeing it all barred from the courtroom altogether.

Weinstein's issue with New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke began Tuesday morning when he called out the defendant for using his phone in the courtroom ahead of the proceedings. While a spokesperson for Weinstein said he wasn't told he couldn't use the phone before the hearing and put it away when he was asked, Burke came out for the proceedings and asked Weinstein "Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life, by texting in violation of an order?" "These comments reflect the court's animus towards the defendant," Weinstein's legal team argued in a letter calling for Burke's removal from the case. Weinstein has maintained his innocence and has pleaded not guilty to his charges.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Later Wednesday, Weinstein's lawyers asked Burke to have Allred, a well-known women's rights attorney representing several of Weinstein's alleged victims, removed from the proceedings as well. "Ms. Allred should not be allowed to sit in court, watch that testimony and share that testimony with her clients," Weinstein's attorney said, given that Allred may also be called as a witness in the case. Burke concluded Allred could stay in the room and on the witness list.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.