The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has expressed its intention to carry out a retrial for Harvey Weinstein in New York. This comes in the wake of the state’s superior court abandoning his 2020 conviction for rape last week. Reflecting on a past dating to over four years ago, his verdict acted as a precedent for the #MeToo crusade, which witnessed a myriad of revelations involving sexual abuse allegations against men from various sectors including politics, media and entertainment.
Prosecutor Nicole Blumberg voiced the state’s standpoint, “This was in no way consensual,” and their commitment to retry the case. While undergoing his 23-year sentence at an upstate jail in Rome, New York, Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan subsequent to the prior week’s ruling, informed his publicist Juda Engelmayer.
Judge Curtis Farber, who presided over the court, anticipated the launching of a fresh trial to occur post the Labour Day holiday, with the date yet to be confirmed. Concluding the hearing, Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala stated, “It’s immensely relieving to be able to return here.”
Previously, in February 2020, the Manhattan jury found Weinstein guilty of sexually assaulting Miriam Haley, an erstwhile production aide, in 2006 and of forcibly violating aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. These individuals form part of the extensive list of over 80 females alleging Weinstein of sexual improprieties.
Gloria Allred, the attorney for one of the accusers, was also present at the proceedings with intentions of addressing the press post the hearing. Weinstein, who refuses the claims of non-consensual sexual involvement with anyone, was cleared for some allegations but was convicted on charges of primary-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape.
The Appeals Court in New York pointed out a core blunder in Judge James Burke’s conduct of the case, having permitted the testimony of three women regarding alleged past sexual abuse by Weinstein unrelated to the charges against him. This infringement of his right to a just trial led to the termination of his conviction. Following a separate instance in California, Weinstein faced another sentence of 16 years for rape, meant to run separately from his current New York conviction.
Mr Burke will not preside over any future retrial in New York, a different judiciary member will fill the role.
Weinstein is a co-founder of Miramax, a film studio reputed for blockbuster movies such as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love. However, his self-titled production company declared bankruptcy in March of 2018. – As reported by Reuters
All Rights Reserved, Thomson Reuters 2024.