Jury summonses were sent out to 2,000 people as selection to serve on former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape trial was set to begin on Tuesday.
The process is expected to take prosecutors, Weinstein’s lawyers and the judge weeks.
Weinstein, who has denied all accusations of unlawful, non-consensual sex, faces possible life imprisonment if found guilty of five charges including rape and sexual assault related to allegations made by two women.
His legal team has vowed to mount an aggressive defence against the allegations.
After Weinstein appeared at the New York State supreme court for a pre-trial hearing yesterday, his lawyer Donna Rotunno said: “In this great country, you are innocent until proven guilty.”
The hearing came as prosecutors in Los Angeles charged him with sexually assaulting two women in 2013.
District Attorney Jackie Lacey said she expected Weinstein to face the charges once the trial in New York concludes.
