Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul, is scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom on Wednesday for the first time since his 2020 rape conviction was overturned by an appeals court last week.
The court ordered a new trial, and the preliminary hearing in Manhattan is expected to cover matters such as evidence, scheduling, and other related issues, according to Weinstein’s attorney, Arthur Aidala.
Despite being hospitalized since shortly after his return to the city jail system on Friday from an upstate prison, the 72-year-old Weinstein, who suffers from cardiac issues and diabetes, will attend the hearing. Aidala mentioned that Weinstein is undergoing unspecified tests due to his health concerns.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has expressed its determination to retry the case against Weinstein. However, legal experts suggest that this may be a lengthy process and will depend on whether the women he is accused of assaulting are willing to testify again. Mimi Haley, one of the women, stated on Friday that she is still considering whether to testify at any retrial.
Aidala plans to inform the judge that he believes a trial could take place any time after Labor Day.
It is worth noting that Weinstein, once a powerful studio boss, was also convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence in California.
In the now-overturned New York case, Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013 and of forcing himself on Haley, a former “Project Runway” production assistant, in 2006. He had pleaded not guilty and maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
The New York Court of Appeals vacated his conviction in a 4-3 decision on Thursday, erasing his 23-year prison sentence, concluding that the trial judge allowed jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges against him.
The ruling shocked and disappointed women who had celebrated historic gains during the #MeToo movement, which brought about a wave of sexual misconduct claims in Hollywood and beyond.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.