During jury selection for Harvey Weinstein's criminal trial in New York, juror No. 11 listed "novel writing" on a questionnaire under "hobbies and interests." Her pastime is more relevant than it sounds, the defense team argues: The juror is writing a novel on predatory men and their relationships with younger women, CNN reports. Women's accusations against Weinsten helped launch the #MeToo movement. Weinstein's lawyers objected to the woman's selection for the jury, but the judge denied the motion, and the defense already is seeking a mistrial. The novelist will be one of the seven men and five women to hear the case against the former Hollywood studio boss, who's charged with raping one woman and sexually assaulting another.
There was another moment involving a novel: A male prospective juror asked his followers on social media how he could use a high-profile case to promote a book, per the New York Times. Weinstein's lawyers said they looked into juror No. 11 online and didn't buy some of her answers during selection. She said "no" when asked if she'd researched predatory men or relationships between men and younger women, and she said she hadn't been following the Weinstein case. "We believed that those presented a cause challenge," a defense lawyer said. Judge James Burke told the courtroom last week that his goal was to find people who could set aside what they had read and make their decision on the evidence presented in court. "This trial is not a referendum on the #MeToo movement," he said. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)
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