Lee Waives Right to Jury Trial

Jason Lee, who is accused of raping a 20-year-old Irish woman in East Hampton in 2013, waived his right to a trial by jury on Tuesday and will instead be tried by New York State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Kahn in her Riverside courtroom beginning next week.

Jury selection in the high-profile case was to have begun next week, but that step is no longer necessary. The trial is set to begin on April 8. Witnesses will be called and testimony will be heard, just as in a jury trial, but Justice Kahn will be the sole judge of fact as well as the decider of law.

In addition to the rape charge, Mr. Lee faces charges of assault in the third degree and sexual misconduct, both misdemeanors. He is being represented by Andrew Lanker and Edward Burke Jr.

Mr. Lee was arrested in East Hampton in August of 2013, charged with raping an Irish student visiting the South Fork after meeting her and her friends at a restaurant in Wainscott.

If convicted on the rape charge, he faces a minimum of five years in state prison.