DESGRACED producer Harvey Weinstein will be retried for crimes in New York.
Weinstein, whose rape conviction in New York was overturned by an appeals court in April, will go on trial on Nov. 12.
Judge Curtis Farber set a tentative trial date Friday after the defense and prosecution agreed they were seeking to expedite the new trial.
Weinstein’s lawyers said in the ruling that they would prefer a start date earlier than November.
“He [Weinstein] is ready to go to trial and prove his innocence,” one of Weinstein’s lawyers told AP News after the hearing.
A frail Weinstein brought into the Lower Manhattan courtroom, dressed in a blue jacket with an American flag brooch.
Farber said he is also willing to set a retrial date earlier, sometime in September, depending on how pretrial discovery goes.
The convicted sex offender, 72, sat expressionless in his wheelchair as the ruling set a new trial date in November.
Weinstein’s hearing was delayed more than an hour due to a global outage that affected computers, AP News reported.
A New York appeals court ruled on April 25 that Weinstein failed to get a fair trial in January 2020 when he was convicted of two counts of sex crimes.
The appeals court panel concluded that Judge James Burke, who oversaw the original trial, made major errors during the trial.
Burke mistakenly allowed testimony from witnesses accusing Weinstein of sexual assault, but those charges were not among those he was being charged with, according to the appeals court.
Actress Jessica Mann and film producer Miriam “Mimi” Haley, whose initial allegations against Weinstein led to criminal charges, are expected to testify at the retrial.
Weinstein has denied any wrongdoing.
Criminal defense attorney Keith B. Johnson previously told U. S. Sun that the disgraced movie mogul might try to use his physical ailments to influence the jury.
“Mr. Weinstein will take a deal,” he said.
“It’s going to be a trial, and it’s also the right resolution on their part, because it can’t be worse than it already is.
“If you get a more sympathetic jury, they might say, ‘Look at this old man, he looks pitiful, he’s done enough, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. ‘”
At a court hearing on May 29, prosecutors told Judge Curtis Farber that they were a new offender opposed to Weinstein.
Prosecutors said more women have filed sexual assault charges against the disgraced producer, adding that some potential survivors were unwilling to advance their initial trial.
“People who were unable to speak in 2020 are now in a position to do so in 2024,” prosecutor Nicole Blumberg told the judge.
It’s unclear how many other accusers are filing charges against Weinstein.
In June, Weinstein’s defense filed an appeal to overturn his conviction in Los Angeles.
Shameful Hollywood maker convicted of rape and sexual assault in December 2022 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
The conviction in Los Angeles came about three years after the guilty verdict in New York.
“Harvey Weinstein judged by a formula whose purpose was to get him at all costs,” Juda Engelmayer, Weinstein’s publicist, told NBC News after the appeal was filed.
“This appeal demonstrates approximately a dozen instances of egregious legal errors that violated his right to a fair trial. We know he has a strong case here. “
Weinstein is lately on Rikers Island in New York City awaiting a new trial.
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