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Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber declared a mistrial just after 1 p.m. — marking the second time a jury couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on Mann’s allegations.
Outside court after the decision, jurors told reporters that nine of the 12 panelists were ready to acquit the 74-year-old fallen movie mogul, including all of the female jurors.
But three male jurors were dead set on convicting Weinstein — and neither side would budge.
For the film exec, it was the third trial he faced over accusations he raped Mann inside the DoubleTree hotel in Midtown on March 18, 2013 — which Mann recounted on the witness stand for five days at the four-week trial.
Josh Hadar, 57, one of the jurors who voted to acquit, said he felt there were contradictions in Mann’s testimony. He also said she appeared to have a selective memory that was sharp when questioned by prosecutors but suddenly foggy when grilled by Weinstein’s lawyers during cross-examination.
“I think the prevailing thought was that the witness had a lot of inconsistencies in her story,” Hadar explained. “I think it came down to that.”
The jurors were “upset” they couldn’t come back with a verdict and said there was a “little bit of tension” and a “little bit of heat” during deliberations.
Earlier Friday morning, the panel had sent a note saying it could not reach a unanimous decision — which prompted the judge to issue an Allen charge, instructing the group to continue their deliberations.
But the jurors sent another note at the lunch break, saying they couldn’t reach an agreement.
“We feel no one is going to change where they stand,” the note read.
Weinstein’s attorney Marc Agnifilo called for a mistrial, which was granted by the judge.
Mann, now 40, broke down several times during her painful testimony as she faced off against her abuser for the third time after a jury at last year’s retrial could not convict the ex-powerhouse producer of rape.
“I said, ‘No’ over and over and I tried to leave,” Mann said through sobs, shortly before she demonstrated to jurors how Weinstein allegedly pinned both of her wrists above her head during the sex attack.
Mann had testified that she did have a consensual relationship at one point because she felt it could lead to a “loving relationship” — while also acknowledging she knew about Weinstein’s power in Tinseltown and how it affected her decision to get involved with him.
At each trial, Mann had been consistent with how she’s described Weinstein: an erratic brat who could switch from being a caring person to someone who could throw a tantrum if things didn’t go his way.
Weinstein also liked to let people know how “powerful” he was in the film industry and how he could make or break a fledgling actor or filmmaker’s career if he or she crossed him, Mann testified.
“Essentially, his friends go very far and his enemies don’t step foot in this town,” the cosmetologist and hairstylist said.
Mann said Weinstein had told her he was in an “open relationship” with then-wife Georgina Chapman when they decided to start hooking up.
Mann also testified that Weinstein had allegedly raped her at a Los Angeles hotel later in 2013, although Weinstein has not been charged for that attack.
Weinstein’s attorney Teny Geragos held Mann on the ropes during a brutal, multi-day cross-examination when she was pressed repeatedly about her relationship with Weinstein and a so-called love note — written by Mann just two days after the alleged New York City attack — which was introduced for the first time at any trial.
“Do I love him or the idea of him? With him — easy. The idea of expanding that — fulfilling,” Mann mused — two days after she said she was sexually assaulted by Weinstein in a room at the DoubleTree hotel in Manhattan.
Mann testified that she had become “emotionally attached” to someone and wanted a loving romance — but Weinstein’s attorney noted how there was no mention about having allegedly been raped.
In the prosecution’s closings, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg urged jurors to understand how Weinstein’s power made it easy for him to manipulate people — and Mann, an aspiring actress with big dreams, became a victim.
“She missed the red flags, she missed the manipulation, the power, the control. She rationalized in her own mind the unwanted sex in the beginning,” Blumberg told jurors.
Agnifilo tried to poke holes in Mann’s character, bringing up how mentally unstable she was at the time — while also claiming that Mann was lying to jurors while on the witness stand.
Juror Sarae Perez, 25, who works in advertising, said the prosecution wasn’t able to prove Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The ultimate doubt — a lot of us felt that we found a lot of holes in her cross-examination versus the direct. That was the main deciding factor,” Perez said.
Mann maintained she testified truthfully and said she deserves justice.
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“Today’s decision to declare a mistrial doesn’t in any way detract from the truth I told and the violent crimes Harvey Weinstein committed upon me and so many others,” she said in the statement. “I chose to testify in three trials because I am telling the truth.”
“The power of predators remains too great. I deserve justice, which is why I stand up and face unbearable public scrutiny in the name of a greater good – a world where predators are not in power,” she said.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — whose office is prosecuting the case — said he was “disappointed” with the mistrial but said he respected the jury system and appreciated their time.
Bragg said his office would consult with Mann to decide whether the office will take Weinstein back to trial for a fourth time.
“For nearly a decade, Jessica Mann has fought for justice,” Bragg said in the statement. “Over the course of many weeks during three separate trials, she relived unthinkably painful experiences in front of complete strangers.”
Meanwhile, Agnifilo said he didn’t think Bragg should retry the case and was amazed prosecutors were able to convince three jurors of Weinstein’s alleged guilt.
“We are going to encourage the District Attorney’s Office to not try this case again,” Agnifilo told reporters outside of the courtroom. “In my view, they’re lucky to have won over three jurors, and I don’t think there’s any scenario where they’re going to do better than that.”
Two lawyers with no ties to the case agreed Bragg should throw in the towel given the challenges of proving Mann’s claims.
“The smart thing would be to let it go,” said former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Seth Zuckerman, given that Mann admitted she also willingly had sex with Weinstein at other times.
“I think it’s tough for a jury to take apart what was consensual and what was not consensual,” Zuckerman said.
He added that he thinks Weinstein was “overcharged” in each of the trials, which “polluted” the case. A lesser charge may have more easily convinced jurors to convict, he said.
“They were going for the jugular,” Zuckerman said. “They could have simplified it and it would have been cleaner.”
Neama Rahmani, another former prosecutor, said Bragg should drop the case since Weinstein will effectively be in prison for the rest of his life anyway. The disgraced mogul has a conviction in a California sex abuse case that landed him a 16-year sentence.
A new trial “is not going to have any practical effect,” Rahmani said. “Weinstein is going to die in prison.”
Julie Rendelman, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, said another challenge of Mann’s case is that as the trials keep piling up, Weinstein’s lawyers can contrast Mann’s new testimony to that from previous trials in a bid to catch her in lies and get her to contradict herself.
Weinstein’s defense, “had the luxury of being able to cross her not just on what she said in court but also on what she said at each and every other trial ,which gave them the ability to find holes in her story,” Rendelman said.
And sentiments toward the #MeToo movement have shifted since Weinstein was first tried in 2020, Rendelman said, noting “people’s viewpoint on what is categorized as criminal sexual misconduct might have changed a little bit.”
Weinstein awaits sentencing on his 2025 conviction when a jury found him guilty of a first-degree criminal sex act for allegedly assaulting Miriam “Mimi” Haley, a former TV production assistant.
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