Harvey Weinstein NYC sex crimes cases to be consolidated into one trial: judge

Harvey Weinstein’s Manhattan sex crimes cases will be tried at the same trial, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Curtis Farber granted a request from the district attorney’s office to consolidate recently filed charges against Weinstein with the case they are retrying after the New York Court of Appeals overturned his conviction. Weinstein’s lawyers had opposed the effort.
Prosecutors last month announced a new indictment against the disgraced producer, accusing him of first-degree criminal sexual act for allegedly assaulting an unnamed woman between April and May 2006.
DA Alvin Bragg’s office in May said it would retry Weinstein on first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape charges first brought in 2018 after the New York Court of Appeals in April threw out his 2020 conviction and subsequent 23-year sentence.
The older case concerns accusations Weinstein raped former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013 and sexually assaulted former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006.
Weinstein, who was recently diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, according to his attorneys, denies all allegations. He’s due back in court on Jan. 29, when Farber will rule on defense motions.
Following his New York conviction, Weinstein was found guilty of separate rape and sex assault charges in Los Angeles in December 2022. He was sentenced to 16 years in that case, which he’s expected to continue serving after the resolution of his New York matters.
The Manhattan trial, which had tentatively been set for Nov. 12, will likely occur in late winter or early spring 2025. Weinstein’s attorneys have asked for it to be scheduled in March or April.
Outside court, Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said the defense would attack on when prosecutors knew about the accuser in the new case and why her allegations weren’t included at the producer’s 2020 trial.
“I think when prosecutors know that there are complaining witnesses, you’re supposed to present them to a grand jury and then to a trial,” Aidala said.
“Not that you’re going to play this game where, well, if we don’t convict him with this jury on these complainants, we’ll still have another jury, which may be more in our favor for the different complainant. So we will be looking to challenge this in every way that we possibly can.”
Aidala declined to discuss specifics about the jailed moviemaker’s ailing health.
“Mr. Weinstein is a fighter, and he’s here to fight this case, and he’s going to fight with every ounce of strength in his body,” the lawyer said, adding that he hoped Weinstein would receive appropriate care while incarcerated on Rikers Island.
Aidala said Weinstein’s defense did not know the woman’s identity in the case brought last month.
An attorney who represents her, Lindsay Goldbrum, welcomed Wednesday’s ruling.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision to consolidate the two indictments. While Ms. Doe has previously chosen not to publicly share this painful portion of her experience, she has always remained consistent in her conversations with the Manhattan DA’s office and maintains that this encounter was not consensual,” Goldbrum said in a statement.
“Ms. Doe wants her privacy to be respected while she prepares for her testimony.”