In 2020, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault by a court in New York. However, after his defense appealed the verdict, it was overturned by the state's highest court, citing errors during the trial.
Starting on Tuesday, the trial will be retried, and it will be a shortened version of the previous process. However, the new trial includes an important addition – a charge based on allegations from a woman who was not part of the initial indictment.
New Witness
Additionally, a new expert witness will be called, as requested by the prosecution. Psychologist Dawn Hughes will testify about the psychological and traumatic consequences of rape and sexual assault.
Hughes testified in favor of Amber Heard during the highly publicized defamation trial between her and Johnny Depp in 2022. The psychologist was also a prosecution witness in the sex trafficking trial against singer R Kelly in 2021.
Judge Curtis Farber has also granted a request from the defense to prevent the term "survivor" from being used to describe Weinstein's victims. Prosecutors were instructed to tell all police officers who testify to refer to the women as "complainant witnesses" instead.
Jury Selection
The trial, which begins today, is expected to last around five weeks, and the first step will be to select a jury, which is expected to take a few days.
The allegations against Harvey Weinstein, 72, surfaced in October 2017 and sparked the #MeToo movement. In total, more than 80 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, harassment, or rape. Weinstein has denied all allegations, claiming that all sexual relationships were consensual.
In 2022, Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles for assault and rape of a woman.
