New York (AFP)

The lawyers of Harvey Weinstein asked Tuesday, without success, a postponement of the trial of the cinema producer in New York, considering that his indictment Monday in Los Angeles for other facts made impossible the appointment of a fair jury.

On the second day of this high-profile trial, lawyer Arthur Aidala estimated that the new charges of sexual assault on two women, announced by the Los Angeles prosecutor on the same day as the opening of the New York trial, were "unprecedented" and "incredibly damaging" to Mr. Weinstein.

He said it constituted "a Christmas present" for the prosecution, and made it impossible for a "fair and impartial" jury to be selected under these conditions.

But judge James Burke refused his request, replying that all accused were "presumed innocent" and that this would be explained to the jurors.

He did not rule out modifying the questionnaire that will be submitted to potential jurors if the defense wanted to add questions after the California indictment.

Pre-selection of jurors for the trial, which is expected to last at least six weeks, is expected to begin on Tuesday, and could take two weeks.

Some 120 potential jurors were expected as early as Tuesday for a first pre-selection.

The judge said he hoped the opening arguments would be held on January 22.

In the New York trial, Harvey Weinstein is accused of sexually assaulting a production assistant, Mimi Haleyi, in his New York apartment in July 2006.

He is also accused of the alleged rape of another woman, who remained anonymous, in March 2013, in a hotel room, also in New York.

In parallel to this trial, he was charged on Monday in Los Angeles for the rape of a woman in a hotel room in Beverly Hills on February 18, 2013, as well as for having sexually assaulted another woman the next day.

Over 80 women have, to date, publicly accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment or sexual assault. Most of the alleged facts are time-barred.

Dressed in an anthracite gray suit, the former Hollywood tycoon was sharply reprimanded by judge James Burke at the hearing Tuesday for having used his phone during the proceedings.

"It was a problem at each hearing," said the magistrate, threatening to order his detention on remand. "Is that really how you want to end up in prison (...), for texting?"

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