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20th Dec 2018

Harvey Weinstein will face trial after his motion for a dismissal was rejected

Dave Hanratty

Harvey Weinstein trial

The disgraced movie mogul will have his day in court.

Harvey Weinstein is expected to face trial “fairly soon” after a judge refused to dismiss the sexual assault case against him.

Vulture reports that Justice James Burke announced his decision at Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday without offering a detailed explanation. Later, he published a six-page written decision that officially rejected Weinstein’s attempt for dismissal based upon alleged misconduct.

“The court finds that the defendant’s claim of prosecutorial or law enforcement misconduct in the proceedings, or pervasive falsity in and around the Grand Jury presentation,” wrote Burke.

“Moreover, there is no basis in law that the conduct of law enforcement must be imputed to the prosecutor. The Court finds that the charges presented in the Grand Jury were supported by competent evidence and the proceedings were properly conducted.”

The film producer’s lawyer Ben Brafman, meanwhile, was quoted as saying, “I think we will fairly soon” regarding going to trial.

“We intend to vigorously defend this case to the best of our ability,” Brafman stated.

“We remain confident despite the court’s ruling today, that ultimately at a trial of this case Mr Weinstein will be completely exonerated.”

The proceeding was attended by actresses Marisa Tomei and Kathy Najimy, the latter of whom told Vulture that she was present “to hear the proceeding and support survivors”.

Weinstein was initially accused of sexually assaulting three women but the case has grown in number, with the 66-year-old indicted on charges of rape in the first and third degrees, two counts of criminal sexual acts in the first degree and two counts of predatory sexual assault.

His lawyer’s have been working on a dismissal since, but now it appears that Weinstein will indeed face his day in court.

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