Harvey Weinstein faced fierce opposition in a Manhattan court on Tuesday to his attempt to have the next critical stage of jury selection in his rape trial conducted behind closed doors.

The New York district attorney leading the prosecution of Weinstein, Joan Illuzzi, was joined by several prominent news outlets in objecting to a defense demand that the jury pool be sequestered when they are subjected to individual questioning by legal teams this week.

Such a move would exclude all media and public from the proceedings, casting in secrecy the final steps taken to produce a jury for the eagerly awaited trial.

Weinstein’s legal team made the demand last week, arguing that unless the potential jurors were questioned in private the film producer would not be assured of a fair and impartial trial.

Defense lawyers have made numerous attempts to call for an adjournment on grounds that the jury pool is being tainted – from objecting to the sounds of women chanting an anti-rape anthem outside the courthouse to protesting about comments made by the judge in ordering Weinstein to stop using his cellphone in court.

The second phase of jury selection, known as voir dire, is expected to start on Thursday and involves potential jurors being grilled by both defense and prosecution lawyers about their backgrounds and experience in the hope of flushing out any prejudices.

Both legal teams can then remove up to three people from the jury pool without giving an explanation.

Weinstein faces five counts relating to the allegations of two women that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. They include two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of rape and one count of a criminal sex act.

In her response to the court, Illuzzi objected to Weinstein’s attempt to have voir dire held in secret. “The procedure employed in this case is fair and reasonable. There is simply no authority for the proposition, advanced here by the defense, that exposure to pre-trial publicity requires individualized, sequestered voir dire,” the prosecutor said.

Lawyers representing the New York Times, the New Yorker, Daily News, Associated Press and other news outlets also filed a response objecting to Weinstein’s motion.

They said that contrary to the idea that publicity would be harmful to the movie producer’s case, “Mr Weinstein and his counsel have sought to make their case through the media”.

The news organizations point out that Weinstein’s lead defense lawyer, Donna Rotunno, has spoken to several publications and TV stations including Newsweek, ABC and CNN.