Harvey Weinstein to return to court for hearing ahead of sex crimes retrial | Harvey Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein is expected back in court in New York on Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crimes charges related to his landmark #MeToo case.

Among other things, Judge Curtis Farber is expected to hear a request from prosecutors to consolidate this case and a more recent indictment into a single trial.

The former movie mogul faced a retrial on two sex crime charges after the state's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year. Then in September he faced a new indictment accusing him of another assault. He has pleaded not guilty.

Weinstein was convicted on charges of forcibly forcing oral sex on a television and film production assistant in 2006 and third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. Another woman in a Manhattan hotel in spring 2006 .

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has argued in court filings that holding separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient” and waste judicial resources. Prosecutors said the cases have significant overlap because they involve similar criminal statutes, witnesses, expert testimony and documentary evidence.

Weinstein's lawyers have argued in court filings that the cases should remain separate. They said prosecutors were trying to “expand the scope” of the court-ordered retrial and turn it into “an entirely new trial” by including the new charges.

There is also the question of when the retrial against Weinstein is actually expected to begin.

Farber had tentatively scheduled the opening of the Weinstein trial for November 12, but both defense attorneys and prosecutors expressed concerns that that date would not give them enough time to prepare.

Weinstein was in custody at the city's Rikers Island prison complex and endured numerous health complications while in prison.

He was also convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, although his lawyers have appealed.

The sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein gave impetus to the #MeToo movement in 2017.

The 72-year-old former producer was a co-founder of the film and television production companies Miramax and the Weinstein Company. He produced films such as Shakespeare in Love and The Crying Game.