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Harvey Weinstein pushed for an earlier start for his sexual assault retrial, citing his recent health issues and “hellhole” prison conditions.
Weinstein, who was recently diagnosed with bone marrow cancer, will face trial in New York starting April 15, despite the disgraced producer’s attempts to begin the proceedings even sooner: “I won’t be there for April.”
“I’m in a serious emergency situation, I’m begging for you to move your date,” Weinstein told the judge overseeing the case. “I need to get out of this hellhole as quickly as possible.”
Weinstein continued (via NBC News), “There are so many people suffering at Rikers island. So many of the people I am with in prison are going through similar problems. They don’t have the same mouthpiece I have. It remains a stain on this city.”
Judge Curtis Farber said that he could move Weinstein’s trial a week earlier — possibly April 7 — if both parties agreed to the change. Farber also ruled against Weinstein’s attempt to dismiss a new charge from a recent indictment; in September, he was indicted on afurther sexual assault chargein New York and accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in 2006. He pleaded not guilty.
A spokesperson for Weinstein said in a statement after the hearing, “Judge Farber demonstrated exceptional responsiveness, and we deeply appreciate his thoughtful consideration of Harvey’s condition and circumstances. We remain confident in a swift and efficient trial process and firmly believe that Harvey will be fully exonerated.”
Weinstein’s retrial in New Yorkcomes after his2020 conviction was overturnedin April 2024, after an appeals court ruled that the judge who oversaw the first trial should not have allowed testimony from Weinstein accusers who were not part of the charges against him.
