Harvey Weinstein’s 1st Court Hearing After Rape Conviction Overturned

On Wednesday, former film producer Harvey Weinstein made his first court appearance since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned.

During the court hearing, prosecutors told the judge, “We believe in this case, and we will be retrying this case. It was a strong case in 2020… and it remains a strong case in 2024.”

Mimi Haley and Jessica Mann, who accused Weinstein of sexual assault and rape, were on hand for the hearing with their famed lawyer Gloria Allred.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is not handling the case directly, was also present.

In the hearing, the assistant D.A. brought attention to Mann, saying, “She’s here today to show she’s not backing down … The defendant may have power and privilege, but she has the truth.”

The next hearing was set for May 28.

A new trial could take place as early as September.

Ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Weinstein was hospitalized in the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital for a “series of tests.”

His attorney Arthur Aidala told ABC 7 Chicago, “It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He's got a lot of problems. He's getting all kinds of tests. He's somewhat of a train wreck, health-wise.”

Last week, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s rape conviction in a 4-3 ruling.

In docs obtained by "Extra," the court argued that the judge who handled the case in 2020 “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.”

In a statement, Judge Jenny Rivera said, “Defendant was convicted by a jury for various sexual crimes against three named complainants and, on appeal, claims that he was judged, not on the conduct for which he was indicted, but on irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts.”

“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” Judge Rivera added. “The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light. The synergistic effect of these errors was not harmless.”

Following the reversal, Bragg’s office said, “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”

After the news broke, Weinstein’s spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told Deadline, “We’re cautiously excited. He still has a long road ahead of him because of the Los Angeles case. We are studying the ramifications of the appeal right now.”

Before the ruling, Weinstein was serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after he had been found guilty of a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. He was convicted on two of the five charges against him, but found not guilty on two counts of predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree.

Weinstein is not a free man, in spite of the shocking reversal.

In 2022, Weinstein was convicted on three charges of rape and sexual assault in L.A., and was acquitted of one other charge. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on three other counts.