Harvey Weinstein in Court: Judge Consolidates Charges for New Trial
Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Curtis J. Farber granted the defense’s motion to consolidate the new indictment against Harvey Weinstein with the prior charges, meaning he will face one trial on all three charges.
Weinstein was charged in September on one count of a criminal sexual act in the first degree, which stems from a recent indictment returned by a grand jury. He pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
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Weinstein also faced a retrial on charges related to his 2020 rape conviction in New York, which was overturned in April. In total, Weinstein had been charged under two indictments for three sex crimes.
Prosecutors have been pushing to consolidate the new indictment with the original indictment, while Weinstein’s defense attorney Arthur Aidala wanted to try the cases separately. The trial date for the original indictment was tentatively set for November, but that has been pushed back as Aidala asked for more time due to other upcoming trials. A new trial date has not yet been set, but prosecutors suggested April 1. The next hearing is set for Jan. 29.
“I know everybody is very curious about Mr. Weinstein’s health. We’re not going to get into any specifics, except to say that Mr. Weinstein is a fighter, and he’s here to fight this case and he’s going fight with every once of strength in his body,” Aidala said in a press conference after the hearing.
The attorney added, “We’re hopeful that the Department of Corrections and Health & Human Services, especially after the media attention that’s taken place in the last 48 hours, really gives him the treatment that any human being in the United States of America, and especially in the city of New York, deserves under the health challenges he’s suffering.”
This week, there were reports that Weinstein has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow. Asked specifically whether the former mogul was diagnosed with cancer, Aidala said he would not comment on that: “That’s up to Mr. Weinstein.”
Aidala said one of the books Weinstein was holding was Barack Obama’s A Promised Land, which Weinstein is re-reading. The former producer remains at Rikers Island but has been pushing his attorneys to explore every legal angle in his defense, Aidala said. “He’s very engaged in his defense,” he said.
Weinstein appeared at the hearing in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday. He arrived in a wheelchair, as he has for each hearing, clutching two books and greeting his row of attorneys and his spokesperson. He appeared pale, as he has appeared for every hearing thus far, but alert.
Aidala has repeatedly said his client was in poor health, citing a letter from Weinstein’s doctor in July stating that he was suffering from fluid in his heart and in his lungs, spinal stenosis, macular degeneration and high blood sugar related to his diabetes and the high-carbohydrate food being served at Rikers Island.
In early September, Weinstein was hospitalized and underwent emergency heart surgery. He appeared in court for his Sept. 18 hearing, after receiving medical clearance.
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