Reporters camp out to get inside courtroom for Weinstein trial
It’s 6.30am and the temperature outside the New York Criminal Court is -2C.
Around 60 reporters are in a line, trying to make sure they get a seat inside the courtroom on the 15th floor, where Harvey Weinstein is on trial for rape and sexual assault.
Some have been here since 4am. The doors of the court building open at 8am.
We shuffle our way forward, waiting for security to scan our bags and equipment. Then it’s a dash for the elevators and a race to make sure you’re not overtaken by anyone else if your lift stops at an earlier floor.
Another queue forms outside courtroom 99. You try to count where you are in the line but can’t quite see the start of the queue to be absolutely sure.
Eventually you get to the door and a piece of paper is handed to you by a court officer. Mine says number 58. There are spaces for 70.
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But you can’t relax once inside. Someone sitting behind me made the mistake of sending a text message on her phone to a friend. She was spotted. Phones are banned. In British courts, tweeting is now accepted practice during trials and inquests; but not in New York.
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She was ordered to stand up and step outside. She tried offering mitigation but summary justice was delivered. She was banned from the court. Her long wait to get in had been a waste of time.
Later, as the trial is under way, I can hear a phone vibrating somewhere. A police officer hears it too, but it stops before he can work out where it’s coming from. Someone has had a lucky escape.
Harvey Weinstein shuffles into court breathing heavily and supported by two of his defence team.
He’s not using the new walking frame which an aide has brought for him. He takes his place at the front of the court and waits for the judge and jury to enter.
The witness giving evidence is Annabella Sciorra. She walks slowly, purposefully, maybe even confidently to the witness stand. Early in her evidence she is asked to identify the defendant and stands up to do so, pointing at him.
Occasionally her words are drowned out by the sound of sirens from the streets below. Being New York, this happens a lot. But she answers the questions from the assistant District Attorney and even smiles and laughs occasionally.
But the tears come too as she tells her story of how Harvey Weinstein raped her. It’s a graphic account.
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As I leave the courtroom, two women who also accuse the movie producer of sexual assault are sitting outside in the corridor, waiting for spare seats to become available inside.
But they don’t want to see and hear the spectacle of a dramatic court case like the rest of us do. They simply want to support their friend Annabella.
