Harvey Weinstein is set to return to a New York courtroom on Wednesday for a pretrial hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crimes charges stemming from his landmark #MeToo case.
The hearing, presided over by Judge Curtis Farber, will address several matters, including a prosecution request to consolidate Weinstein’s existing case with a new charge filed against him in September.
Weinstein, the former film producer whose 2020 conviction on two sex crime charges was overturned earlier this year, now faces additional accusations.
Prosecutors Push to Combine Trials
In the most recent charge, prosecutors allege that Weinstein forced oral sex on a woman at a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
Weinstein, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, is already facing retrial for allegations that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raped an aspiring actor in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, May 29, 2024, in New York. On Wednesday, Weinstein is due back in court for a hearing ahead of retrial.
Angela Weiss/AP Photo
Weinstein’s Legal Team Opposes Consolidation
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has requested that both the original charges and the new ones be consolidated into a single trial.
In court filings, prosecutors argued that holding separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient” and would waste judicial resources. They pointed out that the cases share substantial overlap in terms of the criminal statutes involved, as well as witnesses, expert testimony, and documentary evidence.
However, Weinstein’s legal team is pushing back against the move to combine the cases.
They have argued that the new charge should be handled separately, claiming that prosecutors are attempting to “expand the scope” of the court-ordered retrial and turn it into “an entirely new proceeding.” They maintain that the retrial should focus solely on the charges that were part of the original conviction, which was overturned by New York’s highest court earlier this year.
Harvey Weinstein, center, appears in criminal court in New York, Sept. 18, 2024. The sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein turbocharged the #MeToo movement in 2017.
Seth Wenig/AP Photo
Trial Date Likely to Be Delayed
Another key issue expected to be discussed at the hearing is the timeline for Weinstein’s retrial. While the court had initially scheduled the trial to begin on Nov. 12, both defense attorneys and prosecutors have expressed concerns about meeting that deadline.
Both sides have indicated that they may need more time to prepare for the proceedings, raising the possibility that the trial date could be delayed.
Weinstein has been held at New York City’s Rikers Island jail complex since his conviction was overturned. The 72-year-old has faced numerous health issues while in custody. In addition to his legal battles in New York, Weinstein was convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022. His lawyers are currently appealing that conviction also.
Weinstein, once one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures, cofounded Miramax and The Weinstein Company and produced critically acclaimed films, including Shakespeare in Love and The Crying Game. The accusations against him helped spark the global #MeToo movement in 2017.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
