#MeToo Retrial: Harvey Weinstein Faces Key Court Rulings

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is set to appear in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday for crucial rulings ahead of his upcoming retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.

The retrial, scheduled for April 15, comes nearly a year after New York’s highest court overturned his 2020 conviction, citing unfair trial proceedings. While the new trial will largely mirror the original case, prosecutors have added a fresh charge based on allegations from a woman who did not testify in the first trial.

Weinstein, 72, is being retried for allegedly forcing oral sex on a production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actor in 2013. The additional charge, filed last September, accuses him of sexually assaulting another woman in a Manhattan hotel in 2006.

Prosecutors say the woman came forward just days before Weinstein’s first trial but was not included in the case at the time. They revisited her allegations after his conviction was overturned, securing a new indictment.

Weinstein’s defense team argues that prosecutors deliberately withheld the charge, anticipating the possibility of a retrial. They claim the delay prejudices their client, who maintains his innocence.

Weinstein’s retrial will proceed under Judge Curtis Farber, who ruled in October to merge the new charge with the original case. Unlike his first trial, testimony from additional accusers will not be permitted.

At his last court appearance, in January, Weinstein implored Farber to start the retrial sooner. He told the judge “I don't know how much longer I can hold on” with cancer, heart issues and harsh conditions at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex, where he is locked up.

Last month, Weinstein added Jennifer Bonjean, known for defending Bill Cosby and R. Kelly, to his legal team.

While his 16-year prison sentence for rape in Los Angeles still stands, his lawyers appealed the conviction in June, arguing he did not receive a fair trial.