Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein returned to court in New York today, where he faced prosecutors determined to secure a new guilty verdict following the shock overturning of his conviction for rape and sexual assault.
Weinstein, 72, appeared dejected, pushed in a wheelchair into a Manhattan courtroom, where he smiled and waved to his few supporters. Still in prison, because he was also sentenced to 16 years in Los Angeles in 2023 for rape and sexual assault, this is the first time that the former producer has returned to justice since his annulment last week by a court appeal of his 23-year prison sentence in New York in 2020. A sentence seen as an affront by the MeToo movement because the 2017 revelations about Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assaults had triggered global outrage and pushed many victims to report.
In the courtroom today sat Jessica Mann, one of the two accusers for whom the former producer was convicted in the first trial. “We believe in this case, which is why Jessica Mann is here today,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Nicole Blumberg said.
“We have every reason to believe that the defendant will be found guilty again” during the second trial, he added. Outside the courtroom, Gloria Allred, attorney for the other accuser, Mimi Haley, said her client “has not yet decided whether to testify in a new trial. The overturning of the conviction was a new trauma for her. ..
he’s still thinking about it,” he added.
During the hearing, Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, recalled that at the time his client “had been acquitted of the most serious charges”, in particular the aggravating circumstance of “predatory” behavior, and asked for his release of his client, rejected by Judge Curtis Farber, who postponed the case for several months, after the Labor Day holiday on September 4, without setting a specific date.
Meanwhile, a new procedural hearing has been set for May 29th. The lawyer told reporters that his client’s place is not in prison. “He used to drink champagne and eat caviar, now he buys chips at the prison canteen,” he complained.
The former producer had been sentenced to 23 years in prison for sexual assault of former production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and for the rape of aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. During this highly publicized period, in the midst of explosion of the MeToo movement, many other women had testified, accusing Weinstein of similar acts. However, according to the New York appeals court, the testimonies of the other alleged victims had been admitted “incorrectly” and had “provided a highly prejudicial image” of the defendant. According to the court, “the solution to these shocking errors is a new trial.” The appeals court was divided on the issue, with four judges ruling in favor of the annulment and three against. More than 80 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape, including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd.
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