A Manhattan judge on Friday tentatively set a start date for late 2024 for notorious movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s court retrial on rape and sexual assault charges after a global software outage delayed the star’s court appearance.
Weinstein, an elderly 72-year-old who wears crooked glasses and sits in a wheelchair in Manhattan Supreme Court, heard Judge Curtis Farber schedule a new trial for Nov. 12.
The former Miramax chairman, whose conviction and 23-year sentence were overturned in April, was scheduled to appear before a jury again in September.
But Manhattan prosecutors said last week that new charges against the disgraced movie mogul won’t be ready until November.
Weinstein’s court appearance was delayed by an hour and 40 minutes on Friday morning because of a global CrowdStrike/Microsoft software glitch that affected the court’s computer systems, the judge said.
“I apologize to everyone for the delay in beginning,” the judge said. “The court and Department of Corrections computer systems experienced a failure which delayed the appearance of Mr. Weinstein before our court.”
Weinstein’s lawyer, Diana Fabi Samson, said Weinstein was eager to go to trial despite the delays.
“He wants to go to trial and prove his innocence,” Fabi Samson said after the court appearance. “He’s not feeling well and it’s affecting his mental state.”
Weinstein’s lawyers listed the health problems plaguing the film producer and said his diet was being wrecked by the excessive sugar provided at Rikers Island.
Outside court, Weinstein’s lawyers said they wanted his client transferred to Bellevue Hospital, where he was hospitalized when his conviction was overturned.
Weinstein was convicted of sexual assault and rape for forcing former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haley to perform oral sex on him in 2006 and raping hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
Weinstein is serving a prison sentence in Los Angeles following his February 2023 conviction for raping an Italian model at a film festival in 2013.
Weinstein is back in court on September 12, when the judge is expected to rule on discovery matters.
