NEW YORK (AP) — harvey weinstein His retrial on sex crimes charges in Manhattan is not expected to begin until at least next year, and his lawyers plan to hire a private investigator to investigate. New suspicions against movie mogul It in turn becomes part of the incident.
The new details emerged as Mr. Weinstein appeared in court Wednesday for a pretrial hearing.
Mr. Weinstein was already facing a retrial in state Supreme Court on two sex crime charges. 2020 conviction overturned At the beginning of this year. In September, he faced new charges for a separate assault. He pleaded not guilty.
On Wednesday, Judge Curtis Farber granted the following motion: Combine both cases The company also agreed to postpone the start date of the trial, which was tentatively scheduled for November 12th.
Associated Press correspondent Margie Charoleta reports that the retrial of movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault charges in New York has been postponed until at least next year.
Weinstein’s lawyers asked for a March or April date. Prosecutors have not objected, but have said they are prepared to go to trial as early as January. Farber set his next pretrial hearing for January 29th.
“It will take time to investigate the case, hire a private investigator and dig deeper into the evidence,” Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala said.
Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair, held a copy of former President Barack Obama’s memoir “A Promised Land” and listened intently to the proceedings.
Weinstein was convicted in 2006 of forcing oral sex on a television and film production assistant and of third-degree rape in 2013 for assaulting an aspiring actor. In the new charges, prosecutors say he forced a man to perform oral sex on him. Another woman in a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.
After the hearing, Aidala said she was “somewhat disappointed” but not surprised by the judge’s decision to consolidate the cases.
“This is a departure from the previous strategy,” he said of prosecutors. “They will be putting his character and demeanor to trial, not the facts of the case.”
In court documents, Weinstein’s lawyers accused prosecutors of trying to turn the retrial into an “entirely new process” and argued that the cases should be separated.
But Farber sided with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office, which argued that holding another trial on the new charges would be “highly inefficient” and a waste of judicial resources.
In a written decision, Farber said Weinstein’s lawyers had “failed to demonstrate that his right to a fair trial without unfair prejudice would be violated” if the two cases were consolidated. said.
Aidala said the new accuser has not yet been formally identified for the defense.
“It’s pretty much the same thing, in that it’s been done for years, decades, with consensus, and then recently there hasn’t been a consensus,” he said.
Lawyers for the accuser maintain that the meeting with Mr. Weinstein was not consensual, and that the accuser’s attorney wants to be identified as “Jane Doe” for now.
“While Ms. Doe has previously chosen not to publicly share this painful part of her experience, she has remained consistent in her conversations with the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office,” attorney Lindsey Goldblum said in a statement. said. “MS. Ms. Doe requests that her privacy be respected as she prepares to testify.”
Mr. Aidala also pushed back on suggestions that Mr. Weinstein’s case is the same as the federal government’s position. sex trafficking case To the greats of the rap world Sean “Diddy” Combswhich includes: Suspected of coercing and abusing women For years, they have been silenced through intimidation, intimidation, and violence.
“There is no allegation of the use of force, including physical force. Drugs, movies and baby oil And so on,” he said. “This is all about people who knew each other and dated and fooled around. Everything was fine for years and years and years and now it’s not okay anymore.”
At Mr. Weinstein’s first trial, she was accused of forcibly groping her, physically cornering her, forcing her into objects, and kicking and punching her when she tried to escape from his grasp. It included testimonies from women.
He was acquitted at trial of predatory sexual assault charges related to accusations by actress Annabella Sciorra, who said he assaulted her in her apartment in the 1990s. Prosecutors are prohibited from retrying him on these charges.
Aidala did not elaborate on reports that Weinstein was dealing with new health issues while in prison.
“Other than to say Mr. Weinstein is a fighter and is here to fight this case and will fight with all his heart and soul against his health issues, I won’t touch it.” Said.
The 72-year-old former film producer faced many health complicationsinclude emergency heart surgery Last month, it was to have fluid removed from his heart and lungs.
Mr. Weinstein’s lawyers have argued, so far unsuccessfully, that Mr. Weinstein should be admitted to Manhattan’s Bellevue Hospital instead of a city hospital. The infamous Rikers Island prison complex.
Allegations of sexual assault and harassment against Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement in 2017.
He is also a co-founder of the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company. was convicted of a crime of rape in Los Angeles his lawyer in 2022 appealed.
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