Prosecutors in Harvey Weinstein‘s upcoming retrial in New York say that more alleged rape and sexual abuse victims will testify this fall.
Nicole Blumberg, Manhattan’s Assistant District Attorney,told the judge Tuesday that several women who were not ready to speak up during his 2020 trial are now ready to do so.
“A number of women came forward to indicate they were raped by the defendant in Manhattan,” Blumberg said in court. She said the alleged incidents include a “violent” and “trauma-informed” matter that falls within the statute of limitations. The prosecution expects to be ready for the retrial by November, though the defense is pushing for earlier.
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On April 25, New York’s highest court ruled in a 4-3 decision that the judge in Weinstein’s 2020 rape trial had allowed too many women to testify about allegations that were not part of the case. Weinstein’s 23-year sentence in New York was reversed, and a retrial is expected sometime this fall.
Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s lawyer, called out the prosecution for “delay tactics” and said that the only “relief” Weinstein needs is “time.”
“once again we have the individual and we’re looking for a crime,” he said. “We’ve got the 1-800-Get-Harvey hotline.”
The prosecution denied purposely delaying the proceedings and said the team is working “diligently” to have the new witnesses ready to testify. Aidala added Weinstein is suffering “tremendously” from a variety of medical issues, including fluid in his heart and lungs, spinal stenosis, macular degeneration in his eyes and diabetes that’s “through the roof.”
Weinstein attended the hearing and was brought in via wheelchair by a court officer. He remains in custody due to his Los Angeles conviction; he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for sexual assault after a 2022 trial. He will will stay in New York ahead of his retrial as he rejected the extradition request to relocate him to California. Aidala said that Weinstein’s team will appeal the Los Angeles conviction, and that “there is a lot of light at the end of the tunnel” for the former movie producer.
“At the time the jury was deciding the evidence in California, they were working under the assumption and the belief that he had properly been convicted in New York,” Jennifer Bonjean, the attorney who is handling Weinstein’s California appeal, toldPvNew. “Now we know that’s not true.”
Three women testified in the New York trial as “prior bad acts witnesses” to discuss Weinstein’s pattern of bad behavior and assault. The New York Court of Appeals ruled their testimony distracted the jury from the charges for which he was on trial, which led to the overturned conviction.
“We reaffirm that no person accused of illegality may be judged on proof of uncharged crimes that serve only to establish the accused’s propensity for criminal behavior,” wrote Judge Jenny Rivera in the court’s majority opinion. “It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”
Weinstein’s next hearing is scheduled for July 19.
