Harvey Weinstein back in New York court for hearing ahead of retrial

• Harvey Weinstein appeared in a New York court on Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges.
• Judge Curtis Farber granted prosecutors' request to combine Weinstein's original case and the new charges into a single trial.
• Weinstein faces a retrial on two sex crime charges after his 2020 conviction was overturned earlier this year, and he was indicted on a new assault charge in September. He pleaded not guilty.

Harvey Weinstein returned to a New York courtroom Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges stemming from the landmark #MeToo case.

After the hearing began, Judge Curtis Farber granted the prosecution's 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.

Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to new sex crime charges in New York

Weinstein was convicted in 2006 of forcing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant and of third-degree rape for attacking a female aspiring actor in 2013. In the new charges, prosecutors say he forced a man to perform oral sex on him. Another woman in 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 argued in court filings that the lawsuits should be separate. They said prosecutors are seeking to “expand the scope” of court-ordered retrials to include new charges, turning them into “an entirely new procedure.”

There is also the question of when Weinstein's retrial is actually scheduled to begin.

Harvey Weinstein rape conviction overturned, new sexual assault trial begins

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.

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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.”