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One of the primary questions hovering over the coming sexual assault trial of Harvey Weinstein is whether the court will let women aside from the two mentioned in the indictment testify about their experiences with the movie producer.

But a state court judge in Manhattan ruled on Friday that hearings to determine what evidence of uncharged crimes might be allowed at trial would take place in a sealed courtroom with the public and the press excluded.

The ruling by Justice James Burke in State Supreme Court meant the list of other witnesses prosecutors want to call to testify against Mr. Weinstein — and what they might say — will remain secret a little longer, perhaps until his trial starts on September 9.

Both the prosecution and the defense had asked for the hearing to be held behind closed doors, arguing that allowing it to be public could make it harder to find an impartial jury. Justice Burke agreed with them, ruling this month that closing the courtroom was “the only means available to avoid tainting the jury pool.”