Harvey Weinstein to make first Manhattan court appearance since New York rape conviction overturned

New York appeals court overturned former film mogul’s 2020 rape and assault conviction earlier this week

Harvey Weinstein is expected to appear in a Manhattan court next week, according to officials, the disgraced film mogul’s first appearance since a New York appeals court overturned his 2020 rape and assault conviction on Thursday.

Weinstein is expected to be in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, 1 May, according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

The appearance could yield new information about whether the former film producer will be retried in the state.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office suggested Thursday it would seek another trial, but stopped short of confirming one.

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” a spokesperson for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office told The Independent.

In the coming days, Weinstein is expected to be moved from Mohawk Correctional Facility into a New York City-area facility, as prosecutors mull a retrial.

If he’s not retried in New York, the former film producer will likely be moved to prison in California, where has was convicted in 2022 of the rape, forcible oral sex and sexual penetration of an Italian actress in 2013.

Following the appeals court decision Thursday, Weinstein’s representatives said they hope to get the 72-year-old medical attention.

“We’re going to try to bring him for medical care here in Bellevue [Hospital] down here first,” spokesperson Juda Engelmayer told NBC News. “[Weinstein] is still in a walker, still in a wheelchair ... he has audio issues, he has heart issues. Harvey has a lot of health mountains and hurdles to climb but hopefully this cheers up his mood better and helps him fight them better.”

The former film producer is also seeking to overturn his California conviction.

Members of the #MeToo movement, which was fueled in part by the avalanche of accusations against Weinstein, heavily criticised the New York ruling.

Activists like actor Ashley Judd, one of many Hollywood figures to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct, called the decision an act of “institutional betrayal.”