One of the hundreds of potential jurors in disgraced filmmaker Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes trial is facing jail time for tweeting about the trial.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice James Burke said he expected the man, whose name has not been released, back in court in March over the tweet. The judge had previously barred potential jurors from speaking about their time in court over social media.
“If anyone knows how a person might hypothetically leverage serving on the jury of a high-profile case to promote their new novel … which (REDACTED) called a ‘darkly funny book’ and a ‘witty black comedy,’ DM me please,” the tweet, which has since been deleted, read.
The tweet was used in an appeal by Weinstein’s defense team to argue for a private jury selection without media allowed.
“I am asking you to return to this courtroom on March 10 with an attorney to show cause why you should not be held in contempt,” Burke told the man.
The man, who was also told by Burke he would not be serving on the jury, was handed a printed copy of the tweet before he left the New York courthouse.
Model Gigi Hadid, 24, was also dismissed from the trial after being called as a juror. Hadid told Burke that although she had met Weinstein, she would still be able to “keep an open mind” as a juror.
Weinstein, 67, is facing life in prison if convicted. He has denied any wrongdoing.
