NEW YORK (AP) – Five years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and pulled into prison in handcuffs, the previous film mogul will return to Manhattan this week for a new trial covering the exact same allegations.
It’s not a double risk, but rather a legitimate redo after the New York Court of Appeal overturned the landmark #MeToo Verdict a year ago.
The state’s court of appeals has abandoned Weinstein’s conviction and 23 years’ prison sentence, and ordered a new trial after discovering that the original was tilted by his original judicial ruling and testimony of bias.
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It may take several days to select a ju-describer. The start of the statement and testimony is expected next week. Judge Curtis Farber said six alternatives would be chosen in addition to the 12 ju judges. Prosecutors hope that the retrial will last for a month.
Here’s what you need to know about Weinstein’s retry:
How is this exam different from 2020?
In some respects, the new exam will be spliced into two exams.
Weinstein, 73, is on trial for the first time involving two women, Jessica Mann and Miriam Haley, who were former 2020 trials, and was involved in the case of a woman who was not the first case.
Weinstein pleads not guilty and denies that everyone has raped or sexually assaulted him. Prosecutors are not allowed to retry Weinstein with a certain number of cases he was acquitted at his first trial, including predatory sexual assault charges and one count of first-degree rape.
Harvey Weinstein will appear at Manhattan Crown Court in New York on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025 (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Pool)
The judicial reboot unfolds in a different climate than Weinstein’s first trial. This attracted media attention and saw protesters chanting “rapeepers” outside the courthouse.
The #MeToo movement, born from numerous allegations against the former studio boss in 2017, evolved and declined over time. Weinstein was then convicted in another rape case in Los Angeles.
While some stars still face legal calculations of alleged sexual misconduct, like Sean “Diddy” Combs, who is scheduled to go to trial next month, the drumbeat of alleged sexual misconduct has declined since the early days of #Metoo.
Why is Weinstein being blamed?
Weinstein has been retried on two charges from the original trial, with one count of criminal sex that allegedly forced oral sex in 2006 as a film and television production assistant, and one count of third-degree rape that allegedly attacked an aspiring actor in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
Haley, a former production assistant for Weinstein’s “Project Runway,” testified at her 2020 trial that she thrust her into a bed in a Manhattan apartment in June 2006, forcing her to oral sex on her, who wasn’t obsessed with kicks and pleas.
Haley, who also went on the name Mimi Harrye, admitted to staying in touch with Weinstein, exchanged warm messages with him, and accepted an invitation to the hotel room two weeks after the attack. Under New York law at the time, Weinstein has not been charged with rape in connection with Haley’s allegations.
Mann said he saw Weinstein as a “pseudo-father.” She pursued an acting career in March 2013 at the 2020 trial in which he locked her in a hotel room, ordering him to undress and raping her as he approached her. She claims Weinstein raped her again eight months later at a hotel in Beverly Hills.
Mann also testified that he kept in touch with Weinstein after the alleged assault and sent him a flattering email as she said, “his ego is very fragile.”
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What new bills will he face?
In addition to Haley and Mann, Weinstein is charged with one count of criminal activity in 2006, allegedly forcing another woman to have oral sex in a Manhattan hotel.
The woman, who was not part of Weinstein’s first trial, has not been publicly appointed. The Associated Press does not generally identify people who claim sexual assault unless they agree not to be named, as Haley and Mann did.
Prosecutors said the woman came to them days before Weinstein’s first trial, but was not part of the case. They said they did not pursue the women’s allegations after Weinstein’s conviction, but revisited them after the initial verdict was abandoned and secured new charges.
Weinstein’s lawyers argue that prosecutors should not wait nearly five years for the additional fee.
Why are there new exams?
The Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of New York, abandoned Weinstein’s conviction in April 2024.
In a 4-3 decision, the court said that James Burke at the time denied Weinstein. He said that when he testified to prosecutors and claims that he was not part of the lawsuit, he refused to go to a completely fair trial by having him testify about his decision to confront Weinstein about his history of cruel conduct.
The court labelled the allegations against Weinstein as “terrifying, shameful and rebellious,” but warned that it “will destroy the defendant’s character under the guise of the need for prosecutors.” Burke’s term expires at the end of 2022 and he is no longer a judge.
In her dissent, Judge Madeline Singus of the Court of Appeals wrote that the majority of their colleagues continue to have a “disquiet trend of overturning ju judges in cases that include sexual violence.”
The verdict came to “women’s costs and safety,” she wrote.
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