Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Via AP news wire

Harvey Weinstein due in NYC courtroom for hearing tied to upcoming retrial

Curtis Means@2024

Support truly
independent journalism

Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to appear in a New York court Friday ahead of a planned retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.

The former Hollywood movie mogul's pretrial hearing in Manhattan criminal court will address issues related to evidence in the case, including text messages.

At a hearing last week, prosecutors said they anticipate a November retrial. They told Judge Curtis Farber they are still actively pursuing new claims against Weinstein, though the prosecutors conceded they hadn't yet brought any findings to a grand jury.

Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, argued the investigation was simply a delay tactic.

New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 conviction earlier this year, ruling that the original trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that weren’t part of the case.

The conviction had been considered a landmark in the #MeToo movement, an era that began in 2017 amid numerous allegations of sexual misconduct against the once powerful studio boss behind “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love."

Weinstein had been convicted of rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress and of forcing himself on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors have said one of the accusers in that case, Jessica Mann, is prepared to testify against Weinstein again. Gloria Allred, a lawyer for the second accuser, Mimi Haley, said last week that her client hadn't yet decided whether to participate in the retrial.

The Associated Press does not generally identify people alleging sexual assault unless they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann did.

Weinstein, 72, is jailed on Rikers Island. Aidala has said he suffers from diabetes, macular degeneration and fluid in his lungs and heart and has complained that Weinstein isn't receiving adequate medical care in jail.

Weinstein also was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and is still sentenced to 16 years in prison in California. In an appeal filed there last month, his lawyers argued he didn't get a fair trial in that case.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.