Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to return to a New York courtroom on Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges stemming from the landmark #MeToo case.
Among other things, Judge Curtis Farber will address prosecutors' request to combine that case and the new charges into a single trial.
The former movie mogul was facing a retrial on two sex crime charges after the state Supreme Court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year.
Then in September, he faced new charges for a separate assault.
He pleaded not guilty.
Weinstein was convicted in 2006 of forcing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant and of third-degree rape for assaulting an aspiring actor in 2013.
In the new charges, prosecutors say he forced another woman to perform oral sex on him at a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office argued in a court filing that holding separate trials would be “highly inefficient” and waste judicial resources.
Prosecutors said there was significant overlap because the cases involved similar criminal laws, witnesses, expert testimony and documentary evidence.
Weinstein's lawyers have argued in court filings that the lawsuits should be separate.
They said prosecutors are seeking to “expand the scope” of a court-ordered retrial to include new charges, turning it into an “entirely new proceeding.”
There is also the question of when Weinstein's retrial is actually scheduled to begin.
Harvey Weinstein's sex crimes conviction overturned: Key facts
- Harvey Weinstein's new york rape conviction The case was overturned in a 4-3 decision by the New York State Supreme Court because it “erroneously” allowed the testimony of three women whose allegations were unrelated to the case.
- The 72-year-old is serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison after being convicted of sex crimes for forcing oral sex on and raping two women.
- Prosecutors told Judge Curtis Farber that they expect a retrial in November and continue to aggressively pursue new charges against Weinstein.
- A bill in Albany that would close a loophole in the law that overturned Mr. Weinstein's conviction, allowing testimony about a defendant's past sexual offenses even if he has not been charged in connection with the crime, is still pending. It has not been approved.
Faber had tentatively scheduled Weinstein's trial to begin on November 12, but both the defense and prosecutors feared that this date would not give their side enough time to prepare. have expressed concerns.
Mr. Weinstein is being held at the city's Rikers Island Jail and has faced numerous health complications while incarcerated.
He was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, but his lawyers appealed.
The sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement in 2017.
The 72-year-old former producer co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company.
He produced films such as “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Crying Game.”
