Jury duty is something every citizen might have to face someday, and the selection is random. Just because you’re called for jury duty doesn’t mean you’ll serve on the jury, however, especially if there is reason to believe you may not be impartial to the case.
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is currently facing trial in New York City.
He is accused of raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013 and sexually assaulting a separate woman in 2006. Weinstein maintains that all sexual activity was consensual.
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If convicted, Weinstein could face life in prison.
The trial is expected to last into March.
Weinstein is also being charged with another count of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2013, and he has not entered a plea in those charges yet.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid was revealed to have been selected as a potential juror in the New York case against Weinstein.
Hadid was confirmed to have been one of the 35 potential jurors called in the case. Molly Crane-Newman, a court reporter, reported that Hadid raised her hand when the judge asked whether any of the potential jurors knew anyone involved in the trial.
“I have met the defendant,” Hadid said.
“I have met Salma Hayek and possibly Ryan Beatty.”
While this wouldn’t automatically preclude Hadid being selected as a juror for this case, it could affect her ability to remain impartial.
Hadid insisted, “I think I’m still able to keep an open mind on the facts.”
Crane-Newman also stated that Weintein’s lawyer, Donna Rotunno, didn’t seem to have an issue with Gigi Hadid, who is close friends with Weinstein accuser Cara Delevingne, sitting on the jury.
“She can be fair like anyone else,” Rotunno responded.
While it is unclear whether Hadid will serve as a juror at this time, this is set to bean incredibly high-profile legal case.
