Yahoo News Juror Who Convicted Weinstein Predicts His Final Downfall
Bernard Cody was the first juror chosen to preside over the 2020 sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein in New York, an arbitrary honor that meant he served as foreman in the watershed criminal case that defined the #MeToo movement.
As the foreman, Cody was the spokesperson for the carefully curated group of seven men and five women who listened to weeks of testimony. They decided that in fact the disgraced movie mogul did use his power and prestige in Hollywood to prey on women for over three decades—and committed rape and sexual assault. After listening to harrowing testimony from six women, Cody and his fellow jurors spent five days deliberating before convicting Weinstein of two of the five counts against him in what some observers called “the trial of the century.”
“It was difficult to go through,” Cody told The Daily Beast this past week. “But it is surreal to know we were part of something that was such a big moment in history.”
After two years and a global pandemic, the 60-year-old says he is anxious to see Weinstein back on the stand—this time in Los Angeles, in a trial he believes is “even bigger than last time.” Weinstein, already serving a 23-year sentence for his New York conviction, is facing several charges for allegedly sexually assaulting five women between 2004 and 2013.
“I think the L.A. jury is going to find him guilty again as we did,” Cody said. “I would tell them to look at the evidence, and if it’s the same as what we saw in New York, then I don’t see how they would be able to find him not guilty.”
Seventy-year-old Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which include rape and sexual assault, and faces a maximum sentence of 140 years in prison. Opening statements were poised to begin Monday, after a jury of nine men and three women were chosen in a lengthy and sometimes bizarre—multiple candidates reportedly claimed not to know what #MeToo even means—selection process.
At least nine women are set to testify in the trial that will once again shine a light on that movement and the scores of women who have come out against Weinstein.
The new case includes the former actress Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose lawyer previously told The Daily Beast that she was Jane Doe 4 in the case and was poised to testify, as the L.A. Times first reported. All four other women who were allegedly assaulted were also expected to testify against Weinstein, and all were poised to be identified in open court.
Weinstein’s lawyer did not respond to a request for comment about Cody’s statements, but previously told The Daily Beast that “we’re confident once the jury hears the details of these allegations, they’ll see that they didn’t happen or that they’re fabricated, or that they didn’t happen the way they say they did.”
The outcome of the Los Angeles trial was once seen as ceremonial given Weinstein’s New York sentence and declining health. But the case may now determine whether the Pulp Fiction producer is ever again a free man. In August, the New York State Court of Appeals agreed to allow Weinstein to appeal his conviction—cleaning the way for oral arguments next year.
The L.A. case will also serve as a sort of barometer for the #MeToo movement five years later, as some cases involving allegations of domestic and sexual violence against prominent celebrities have hit roadblocks, or failed entirely.
For Caitlin Dunlany, an actress who accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault in the mid-1990s, the decision to grant the producer an appeal was a devastating “step backward” in the #MeToo fight. While Dunlany is not involved in the Los Angeles trial, she told The Daily Beast she planned to attend the proceedings to back the other women who are testifying, noting that it is important for them to know “they are supported.” (Dunlany was involved in a class action lawsuit against Weinstein, which was ultimately rejected by a federal judge in 2018.)
“These women were harmed by him and deserve their day in court,” Dunlany added. “For those of us that are outside the statute of limitations, it’s like having our day in court as well. Going on the stand is a very intense experience, but we stand together.”
As in the New York trial, Los Angeles prosecutors allege that Weinstein sexually assaulted multiple women over a period of decades. Among his alleged crimes is the rape of Siebel Newsom at a Beverly Hills hotel in 2004. Another woman is set to tell jurors how Weinstein “bullied his way” into her hotel room in 2013 before ultimately raping her.
Defense lawyers plan to argue that Siebel Newsom and the producer had a close relationship, and were allowed by the judge to introduce evidence that the actress emailed Weinstein in 2007 asking for advice on a sex scandal involving her then-boyfriend, Gov. Newsom.
‘She Said’ Is a Frustratingly Dull Drama About Exposing Harvey Weinstein’s Sexual Abuse
Lauren Young, who testified in Weinstein’s New York trial, will also tell L.A. jurors Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a bathroom in 2013. In all, prosecutors believe they will call upwards of 50 witnesses during what’s expected to be a two-month trial—including Mel Gibson, who is set to support one woman’s allegation that Weinstein masturbated in front of her in 2010. (Weinstein’s lawyers plan to question Gibson about his infamous antisemitic remarks during a 2006 arrest—and his 2010 racist comments to a girlfriend.)
Cody said that Young’s testimony in New York was one of the more powerful pieces of evidence in the trial. On the stand, the 30-year-old told Cody and his fellow jurors how Weinstein trapped her in the bathroom at the Montage hotel before he stripped naked, groped her breasts, and began masturbating onto the floor just days before the Oscars.
“My hands were down to my sides because the dress was pulled down to my elbows—so my breasts were out,” Young testified in 2020. “At that point, he went from grabbing my right breast to touching my vagina.”
Young said that as he was masturbating, Weinstein said, “How am I going to know if you can act?” and, “This is what all actresses do to make it.”
The former jury foreman said he vividly remembers Young’s time on the stand as the sixth and final witness before he and the other jurors were set to deliberate Weinstein’s fate. Her claims were only reinforced once prosecutors showed the New York jury the white lace dress she was wearing on the day of the incident.
“We believed her quickly,” Cody recalled.
But while Cody conceded that the Los Angeles jury has more evidence to sift through than in his case, he was confident Weinstein will never see the outside of a jail cell. As someone who has poured over the case against Weinstein in New York, Cody said, it was clear Weinstein had a pattern of predatory behavior to lure aspiring actresses to be alone with him before sexually assaulting them.
Cody said that sometimes he could not sleep at night during his trial because of its harrowing content. But he offered advice for the new set of jurors, insisting they take care to go back and review a second time any woman’s testimony if some of their allegations are not immediately clear.
“I can’t say that deliberating was difficult for us, but it took a while because of all the evidence. We also did not ask for clarification on testimony as early as we should have,” Cody added. “They have an important responsibility, and they should not feel worried about taking the time to make sure they are doing this right.”
Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now.
Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now.
