Harvey Weinstein’s retrial in N.Y. rape case expected after Labor Day
NEW YORK – Former film producer Harvey Weinstein’s rape case is expected to be retried sometime after the Labor Day holiday, a judge said Wednesday, as the frail-looking defendant made his first Manhattan court appearance in years.
Weinstein’s 2020 conviction in the rape case was overturned last week by New York state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, which determined that rulings by the original judge allowed prejudicial evidence into the proceeding. Jurors at the 2020 trial heard testimony from women who were not part of the case but were allowed to speak about alleged misconduct.
Weinstein was in a wheelchair Wednesday as he appeared before a new judge. He has recently been hospitalized and has several medical issues.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told New York Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is committed to retrying the case.
Blumberg said a Weinstein accuser who had testified, Jessica Mann, was in the courtroom and was still cooperating.
“She’s here today to show that she’s not backing down and is committed to seeing that justice is served once again,” Blumberg said.
Defense lawyer Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was eager to prove his innocence.
Farber that he would plan on setting a date after Labor Day, “an exact date to be determined.”
Weinstein was acquitted at trial of some charges including the top count related to Mann, an aspiring actress who accused Weinstein of forcibly assaulting her. He was convicted on other counts related to Mann and another accuser Mimi Haleyi, whose lawyer Gloria Allred was in court.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in a packed Manhattan courtroom on March 11, 2020, days before the city shut down by the pandemic.
Aidala said Weinstein’s conviction in California on similar charges is potentially tainted because of the Manhattan case. His appeal brief in that case is due this month.
Weinstein’s trial judge in New York, James Burke, is no longer on the bench. The Court of Appeals also took issue with rulings that would have permitted Weinstein to be cross-examined on allegations of bad behavior not directly tied to the case. Weinstein’s attorneys at the time said he wanted to take the witness stand to defend himself but the rulings made it too risky.
His defense team argued to the jury that women were eager to have relationships with him because of how they believed he could help their careers and that any encounters he had were consensual.