But a state judge sealed a hearing about the subject Friday, saying the media had no right to attend, effectively keeping secret until his trial the list of other witnesses who might be allowed to publicly air complaints about the movie producer.
Both the prosecution and the defense had asked for the hearing to be held behind closed doors, arguing that publicizing it could make it harder to find an impartial jury.
Justice James Burke agreed with them, ruling this month that closing the courtroom was “the only means available to avoid tainting the jury pool.” He said Weinstein’s right to a fair trial trumped the public interest of allowing reporters to listen to the arguments, which could deal with material that “is prejudicial to the defendant and is highly inflammatory.”
Prosecutors have said they intend to call an unknown number of women to testify about other accusations of sexual harassment or assault that are too old to prosecute under the state’s statute of limitation, what is known to lawyers as “prior bad acts.” Those witnesses would be called to establish Weinstein’s pattern of behavior.
Prosecutors in Pennsylvania used that strategy last year in convicting Bill Cosby at his second sexual assault trial near Philadelphia.
The indictment in Manhattan against Weinstein concerns only two victims: a woman who says she was raped at a Manhattan hotel in 2013 and another woman who says Weinstein forced her to let him perform oral sex on her at his town house in 2006.
Lawyers for the news organizations, including The New York Times, argued that defense witnesses had not met a high legal standard for banning the media and the public.
Burke also denied the media organizations’ request to delay the hearing so they would have time to appeal.
Weinstein, who is out on bail, has denied the charges, saying the encounters were consensual.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.