NEW YORK (AP) – Harvey Weinstein arrived at a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday in his first appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was vacated by an appeals court last week.
Mr. Weinstein, wearing a navy blue suit, sat in a wheelchair being pushed by court officials as he entered the preliminary hearing in Manhattan, his lawyer Arthur Aidala said. It is expected that this will be discussed.
Aidala said Weinstein attended the hearing even though he had been hospitalized shortly after returning to the city jail from an upstate prison on Friday. He said Weinstein, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, had undergone unspecified tests for health issues.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has signaled its determination to retry the case against Weinstein. Legal experts say it could be a long process and will ultimately depend on whether the women accused of assault testify again. One of the women, Mimi Haley, said Friday she was still considering whether to testify at the retrial.
Prosecutors said one of the accusers, Jessica Mann, appeared in court Wednesday and asked the judge for a retrial date in the fall.
Aidala said Saturday that he plans to tell the judge that he believes the case could go to trial any time after Labor Day.
The once powerful studio boss was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and is currently serving an additional 16 years in prison in California.
In a now-overturned New York case, Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape in 2013 for assaulting an aspiring actor and in 2006 for assaulting Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant. He was found guilty of coercion. She has pleaded not guilty, and she has maintained that her sex was consensual.
The Associated Press typically does not identify people who allege sexual assault, like Haley and Mann, unless they agree to remain anonymous.
On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals ruled 4-3 after concluding that the trial judge had allowed jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges against him. His conviction was quashed and his 23-year prison sentence revoked. .
The ruling came as a shock and dismay to women who were celebrating historic progress in the era of the #MeToo movement, which ushered in a wave of sexual misconduct allegations both inside and outside of Hollywood.
