The rape trial of disgraced Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein has been postponed yet again, this time to September 9.
The disgraced film producer had been set to go on trial on June 3 in Los Angeles, but Justice James Burke has agreed to give the defence additional time to prepare.
Weinstein is accused of five counts of rape and sexual assault, involving two victims, and could face life in prison if convicted.
Burke on Friday ordered the courtroom closed for an argument on a prosecution motion to allow additional women to testify in the case.
Robert Balin, a lawyer representing more than a dozen media outlets, protested that the hearing should be open to the public, and vowed to appeal Burke’s ruling.
The media was allowed back into the courtroom on Friday afternoon for a discussion of scheduling matters.
The prosecution expects its portion of the case to take about three weeks, while defence lawyer Jose Baez estimated he would need one week to put on a defence. Jury selection is expected to take about two weeks.
Weinstein was initially supposed to go on trial in May, but parted ways in January with lead lawyer Ben Brafman, prompting the first of what are now three missed court dates.
Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant, at his home in 2006. He is also accused of raping an unidentified woman at a hotel room in Manhattan in 2013.
Prosecutors want to call additional women with similar allegations to help establish a pattern of misconduct. The number and identities of those women has been kept secret.
The defence has argued that calling such witnesses would prejudice the case, and asked the court to close Friday’s hearing on the subject to avoid tainting the jury pool.
The prosecution also asked that the hearing be closed, in part to protect the witnesses’ identities. Burke’s decision, if he made one, was not disclosed.
The two sides also discussed discovery issues on Friday, as the defence sought access to a witness’s mobile phone records.
-with AAP
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