Harvey Weinstein faces his accuser as judge orders rape retrial

The Hollywood producer’s 2020 conviction was overturned last week. A new case is expected to begin in the nothern autumn.

Harvey Weinstein at Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Harvey Weinstein will be retried on rape charges after his 2020 conviction was overturned on­ appeal.

The movie mogul, 72, appeared in a Manhattan courtroom in a wheelchair on Wednesday afternoon to be formally released from the previous conviction.

He wore a dark suit, blue tie, hospital bracelet and handcuffs in what marked the first time he had been seen in public since February 2023, when he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles, California, on separate rape charges.

Weinstein smiled and flashed a thumbs-up to supporters in the front row as he entered court, and avoided the gaze of one of his accusers, Jessica Mann, who attended the hearing and sat near Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, and women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred.

Jessica Mann leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on Wedneday. Picture: AFP

Nicole Blumberg, an assistant district attorney, said Ms Mann, one of two women to testify against Weinstein at the 2020 trial, was in court to show her commitment to testifying again.

“She’s here today to show that she’s not backing down and she’s committed to seeing justice served once again,” Ms Blumberg said. “The defendant may have power and privilege but she has the truth. It was a strong case in 2020 ... and remains a strong case in 2024. We believe in this case, and we will be retrying this case.”

A date for the new trial has not been set but it is expected to be after Labour Day in September.

Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, said he was “sharp as a tack” mentally and would be able to participate fully in the trial. “Smart as he ever was,” he said. “He’s read hundreds and hundreds of books. No issue about his mental abilities to participate in a defence.”

That said, Mr Aidala asked for Weinstein to be freed while awaiting trial due to a litany of “very, very serious medical issues”. Judge Stephen Garber denied the request and set the next hearing date for May 29.

The appearance in court by Ms Mann helped assuage concerns that a retrial could be complicated by the willingness of accusers to testify. Mimi Haleyi, the other woman whose claims formed the basis of Weinstein’s New York trial, said on Friday that she was weighing whether to put herself on the stand again.

Victims lawyer Gloria Allred outside court. Picture: Getty Images

On April 25, seven judges from New York’s highest court ruled that the 2020 conviction for the sexual assault of two women was not legally sound. In a 4-3 decision, they found that Weinstein’s trial judge had erred by allowing the jury to hear and see evidence that was not directly tied to the charges he was facing.

On Friday, Weinstein, who produced movies such as the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love and was at one point worth $US300m, was transferred from Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 160km northwest of Albany, upstate New York, to a New York City jail. He was admitted to New York’s Bellevue Hospital soon afterwards for tests.

He has diabetes and a heart condition, and his lawyers have said his health has deteriorated significantly since he was seen in court last year. Mr Aidala told the Associated Press this week that “he’s somewhat of a train wreck, health-wise”.

Throughout his rape trial in 2020, Weinstein shuffled into court with a walking frame, his back seeming to be painfully stooped. The New York case was based on allegations that he raped Ms Mann, then an aspiring actor, in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013, and forced oral sex on Ms Haleyi, a British production assistant, in his New York apartment in 2006.

Harvey Weinstein's lawyer, Arthur Aidala, speaks to the press last week after New York's highest court on April 25 overturned his client’s 2020 conviction. Picture: AFP

Four other women – screenwriter Lauren Young, Sopranos actor Annabella Sciorra and aspiring actors Dawn Dunning and Tarale Wulff – were permitted to testify about their experience with the Miramax co-founder.

At his appeal in February, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the jury was unduly influenced by judge James Burke’s decision to permit testimony from these women, whose allegations were not part of the case. Mr Aidala said the decision had “destroyed even the semblance of a fair trial”.

The hearing on Wednesday took place in the same courtroom where Donald Trump is on trial accused of paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up their alleged affair.

Two former prosecutors have suggested Weinstein’s successful appeal could open the door for Mr Trump to appeal against a conviction too.

Harvey Weinstein leaves the Manhattan Criminal Court in 2020. Picture: AFP

Jim Walden and Deanna Paul said judge Juan Merchan had imperilled a “strong case” against Mr Trump by ruling he could be questioned about other civil court judgments that have gone against him in recent months.

Should Mr Trump decide to give evidence in his defence, prosecutors will be permitted to question him over a ruling that he violated a state law by “fraudulently misstating the value of his assets” and he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll, who alleged he sexually assaulted her.

After Weinstein’s New York conviction was nullified last week, his lawyers in California immediately announced an intention to appeal against his 2023 conviction in the state.

They will argue, as in New York, that allowing other women to testify about “prior bad acts” unfairly prejudiced the trial.

Unlike in New York, California state law has a statute allowing supporting witnesses to testify. Weinstein’s lawyers could also argue the jury was prejudiced because they were aware he had been convicted in New York.

The Times