New York City Prosecutor’s Office calls for a new trial against Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein will be tried again in New York, the Manhattan Prosecutor’s Office said this Wednesday, a week after the Supreme Court annulled his conviction for rape in 2020. The Hollywood producer was accused of sexual crimes, in one of the most high-profile cases that involved the #MeToo movement in the United States.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, quoted by The Guardian, stated, through officials in his office, that his team is determined to retry the case against the movie mogul. Legal experts interviewed by the English newspaper say that the process could be long and that it depends on the women accused of assault being willing to testify again. One of the victims, Mimi Haley, said Friday that she is still considering whether she will testify in any new trial.

Court overturns conviction of producer Harvey Weinstein

In the New York case, which has now been overturned, Weinstein was found guilty of third-degree rape and other sexual abuse crimes. He pleaded not guilty and claimed the sexual activities were consensual.

As reported last Thursday by The New York Times, by a 4/3 majority, the judges considered that the magistrate presiding over the Weinstein case made a crucial error, by allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said that The former Hollywood producer attacked them. However, the judges consider that Weinstein was tried not only for the crimes of those testimonies, but also for previous conduct.

Citing that ruling and others it identified as errors, the appeals court ruled that Weinstein was not entitled to a fair trial. According to the judges, Harvey was not only tried for the crimes he was accused of, but for much of his behavior in other situations.

The former producer was convicted in Los Angeles, in 2022, for another rape, after which he must serve another 16 years in prison in California.