One day after the disgraced producer's attorney filed the motion, Justice James Burke responds to the call for him to recuse himself insisting that he did nothing wrong.

• Jan 10, 2020

AceShowbiz - Harvey Weinstein has been denied his request for a new judge to oversee his New York trial for rape and sexual assault.

The disgraced producer's attorney, Arthur Aidala, filed a motion on Wednesday, January 8, calling for Justice James Burke to recuse himself from the case on the grounds of bias, a day after he had lambasted Weinstein and threatened him with jail for illegally using his cell phone in court.

"Is this really the way you want to end up in jail for the rest of your life by texting and violating a court order?" Burke remarked to the 67-year-old - comments the defence lawyer insisted were "prejudicial and inflammatory".

Aidala also accused Burke of ignoring concerns for his client's right to a fair trial, having shut down earlier motions for a change of venue and a trial delay in light of the new sex crime charges filed against Weinstein in Los Angeles earlier this week (begins January 6).

However, the judge declined the demand on Thursday, insisting he did nothing wrong by "scolding a recalcitrant defendant" over his cell phone use, which violated a court order.

"I never meant that I was going to put your client in jail for life," Burke explained.

Of his decision not to postpone trial proceedings, he added, "There is no time like the present. All sides are ready."

Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and sexual assault in New York, where he is accused of performing a forcible sex act on a woman in 2006, and attacking a second in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.

The trial is expected to last two months, and opening statements are due to begin on January 22, 2020.

If convicted, he could be ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars.