Why Harvey Weinstein is headed to New York court for the third time

< warm>WARNING: This clause may impress those who feature experient​ ​​​sexual violence or know someone affected by it. 

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to go back to court Tuesday, in his third New York trial regarding various allegations of rape and sexual assault. 

Alongside his brother Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein ran the production company Miramax for two and a half decades, earning a reputation as an awards season tastemaker and ruthless taskmaster. But following 2017's #MeToo movement, numerous women came forward with accusations of criminal sexual misconduct against him. 

Weinstein was fired from his Weinstein Company as allegations were made public in the New York Times and New Yorker articles, was expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences shortly after and then criminally charged in 2018.

He was first convicted in 2020 and has been imprisoned since. He has repeatedly and consistently denied any illegal behaviour and stated all interactions were consensual — though he has not personally testified at any of his trials.  

In the time since his first conviction, a series of appeals and retrials have led to a series of court appearances — leading to Tuesday's proceedings. His first conviction in 2020 was for third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sexual act in connection with hairstylist and actor Jessica Mann and production assistant and producer Miriam Haley, respectively. He was acquitted on three other counts, including predatory sexual assault. Both Mann and Haley agreed to be named publicly.

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years in prison

He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, which he began serving at Rikers Island that year — while simultaneously facing rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles. 

He was found guilty of those Los Angeles charges in 2022, receiving a 16-year sentence the following year. That sentence is scheduled to be carried out after he has finished serving his time in New York. 

But in 2024, a New York appeals court overturned his 2020 convictions citing "egregious errors" in how the trial judge allowed testimony from complainants who were not directly connected to the charges he was facing. 

“No person accused of illegality may be judged on proof of uncharged crimes that serve only to establish the accused’s propensity for criminal behaviour,” they wrote in their findings, referencing New York's "Molineux Rule," which was a fundamental point of contention from the trial's beginning.

At the subsequent 2025 retrial, charges related to Haley were upheld, but the charge of third-degree rape related to Mann resulted in a hung jury. For that charge, the judge declared a mistrial after the jury foreperson refused to return to more deliberations, claiming another juror bullied and intimidated them.

Mann has testified that she had a consensual, on-and-off relationship with the then-married Weinstein. But when he cornered her in a Manhattan hotel room where she was staying on a weekend getaway in 2013, she protested, "I don't want to do this," she told jurors. 

She said he kept making advances and demands until she "just gave up."

A third accuser — model turned psychotherapist Kaja Sokola, who agreed to be named publicly — was added to the 2025 trial and also alleged sexual assault. Weinstein was acquitted of that charge.

When opening statements begin on Tuesday, it will mark the third time that Mann's accusations against Weinstein will be tried. Weinstein is appealing the Los Angeles verdict and is expected to appeal the New York conviction involving Haley. It carries the potential for up to 25 years in prison; no sentencing date has been set. The retrial is expected to last over a month.

Jury selection for the upcoming retrial began April 14. Questioned about the length of the proceeding and whether they could be fair and impartial about the much-publicized case, more than 80 people asked to be excused during the initial screening.

In a surprise move before jury selection began, prosecutors said they had a new piece of evidence — a remark that Weinstein allegedly made to a court officer six years ago.

According to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Candace White, the officer told prosecutors the week prior that he was present during Weinstein's February 2020 sexual assault conviction and heard Weinstein say: "If you had seen these girls, you would have done the exact same thing."

Weinstein's lawyers urged Judge Curtis Farber to keep any mention of the supposed remark out of the upcoming retrial.

"This sounds far-fetched," defence attorney Marc Agnifilo said, also arguing that it emerged too late.

Agnifilo and his partners took on the case in February, when longtime Weinstein lawyer Arthur Aidala stepped aside from the retrial to focus on the former studio boss' appeals and civil matters. 

In this case, the rape charge is a lower-level felony punishable by up to four years behind bars. Weinstein, 73, has already served longer than that.

Weinstein has various health problems and uses a wheelchair. Since his 2020 conviction, he has spent time in Bellevue Hospital, been diagnosed with cancer and received emergency heart surgery. 

He told the judge in January that his "mental state is collapsing" in New York's notorious Rikers Island jail.

If you're in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. For support in your area, you can look for crisis lines and local services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.

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