Harvey Weinstein trial live: Disgraced film mogul returns to New York courtroom to face sex crime allegations
Disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein is set to return to a New York courtroom today as a jury will hear opening arguments in the rape and sexual assault retrial.
A female-majority jury will decide the outcome of the retrial at Manhattan criminal court after prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers finished jury selection Tuesday.
Weinstein is being tried again after New York’s highest court last year overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence in a major blow to the #MeToo movement.
The Court of Appeals found that his trial had been tainted by improper rulings and prejudicial testimony.
State prosecutors brought new sex crimes charges against Weinstein in September, this time charging him with first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape based on accusations from a former TV production assistant, Miriam Haley, and aspiring actress, Jessica Mann.
The 73-year-old has pleaded not guilty.
Weinstein was granted a minor legal victory last week when a judge ruled he could spend the remainder of his retrial in a hospital rather than Rikers Island due to his extensive health issues.
Judge Curtis Farber agreed and said “to not do so could lead to exacerbation of and further serious medical conditions, and possibly death.”
