Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial will begin on Nov. 12.
The judge tentatively set the date after Weinstein appeared in a Manhattan courtroom Friday.
The disgraced film producer wore a blue suit and tie with an American flag pin.
Weinstein’s pretrial hearing was set to discuss multiple aspects of the retrial, including text message evidence against him.
After the hearing, Weinstein’s attorney, Diana Fabi Samson, spoke to reporters outside, according to People magazine.
Samson said Weinstein “is anxious to go to trial and prove his innocence. Physically, he is not well, and that has affected his mental state.”
During a July 9 hearing, prosecutors told the judge an investigation into Weinstein is still ongoing after multiple accusers came forward following the overturned rape conviction. Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg explained that while they were conducting an investigation, a grand jury had not been convened. Weinstein’s team claimed the new investigation was just a delay tactic used by the prosecution.
However, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office denied the accusation, saying, “There’s certainly no delay tactics on our part. We’re proceeding in the most expeditious manner.”
A New York appeals court overturned Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction on April 25, ordering a new trial in a stunning reversal of a landmark #MeToo case.
In a 4-3 decision, the court found that Weinstein’s trial judge had allowed prosecutors to call as witnesses women who had said that Weinstein had assaulted them, even though their accusations did not specifically relate to the entertainment mogul’s charges.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault from actress Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the 1990s. Weinstein has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
Ultimately, the appeals court found that the trial judge should have only allowed witnesses to testify about the sexual assault encounters that Weinstein’s charges stemmed from. During his trial, multiple women testified about sexual assaults allegedly performed by Weinstein, even though it wasn’t what he faced charges for.
After Weinstein’s sentencing in New York in 2020, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to face sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
Due to the overturned conviction, California has requested Weinstein be extradited to begin serving out his 16-year sentence. Weinstein’s team fought the extradition during a May 9 hearing.
“Our main concern in all of this is that Mr. Weinstein is here in New York, so we can prepare for trial and that he get the medical care he needs,” Samson told reporters during a post-hearing press conference. “And just concerned that travel … would impact his health issues.”
She later emphasized: “He has very serious health issues. And I think it’s also worth noting that since the day he was incarcerated, he has been in a hospital setting.”
Samson also noted that California is “not in a position to extradite Mr. Weinstein because they have not done what they need to do.”
Weinstein’s next hearing regarding the matter is August 7.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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