Harvey Weinstein is back in court as New York weighs California’s prison motion

NEW YORK – Harvey Weinstein appeared in a New York City courtroom on Thursday as authorities consider California’s extradition request to serve his outstanding prison sentence for a 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles.

The 16-year sentence Weinstein received in 2023 for raping a woman at a Los Angeles film festival in 2013 was on hold while he served time behind bars in New York after being convicted of rape in Manhattan in 2020 . But the conviction in the Empire State was overturned late last month and his 23-year prison sentence was vacated.

The hearing in Queens Criminal Court on Thursday morning, days after Weinstein left a city hospital, was related to California’s request, according to prosecutors and defense attorneys. Weinstein arrived at the hearing in a wheelchair and wore a dark suit.

The 72-year-old remained in custody in New York while the Manhattan district attorney worked on a new case against him. At a hearing last week, prosecutors said they could be ready as early as September and that at least one of the two alleged victims was willing to testify again.

In this case, the once-powerful former movie mogul is accused of raping an aspiring actor in 2013 and sexually assaulting a television and film production assistant in 2006. He denies the allegations.

In overturning the conviction, New York’s highest court concluded that the judge had prejudiced Weinstein through inappropriate sentencing, including by allowing other women to testify about allegations he was not accused of.

The 2020 conviction was hailed at the time as a milestone in the #MeToo movement, an era that began in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein.

Weinstein was sent to a state prison in New York State to serve his sentence. After he was transferred to the city’s custody following the appeals court decision, he was taken to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where he was treated for pneumonia and other medical problems, according to his publicist. He was transferred to the city’s Rikers Island prison complex on Monday.