Film mogul Harvey Weinstein was hospitalized following his return to New York City after an appeals court ruling Thursday nullified his 2020 rape conviction.
Weinstein's attorney, Arthur L. Aidala, told CBS News in a statement Saturday evening that the New York City Department of Correction "determined that Mr. Weinstein needed immediate medical attention. A myriad of tests are being performed on Harvey and he is being kept for observation."
Frank Dwyer, a spokesperson with the New York City Department of Correction, told the Associated Press that Weinstein remains in custody at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. Thomas Mailey, a spokesperson for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said Weinstein was turned over to the city's Department of Correction pursuant to the appeals ruling.
On Thursday, New York's Court of Appeals threw out the conviction of the onetime movie powerbroker, who prosecutors say forced young actors to submit to his prurient desires by dangling his ability to make or break their careers.
He was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant and of third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013.
In a 4-3 decision, an appeals court vacated a 23-year jail sentence for Harvey Weinstein and ordered a retrial. The court found that the trial judge had made errors by allowing three women to testify about allegations not part of the charges and by permitting questions about Weinstein's history of "bad behavior" despite him not testifying.
Less than 24 hours after the appeals ruling, Weinstein was transferred from an upstate jail to New York City. He is set to appear in a Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday, marking his first hearing since his conviction was overturned.
The district attorney's office has expressed its intention to pursue a retrial, working off the same indictment but excluding the charges Weinstein was acquitted of four years ago.
"We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault," the district attorney's office stated according to the Associated Press.
Weinstein remains in jail after also being convicted in a similar case in California. However, experts believe that a potential retrial may not happen anytime soon, if at all. The timeline for a retrial will depend on the willingness of witnesses to testify once again.
Legal experts predict that a trial may not be in the cards for Harvey Weinstein after his first trial ended in a conviction. Former federal prosecutor Joshua Naftalis believes Weinstein may opt for a plea deal to avoid another trial. Naftalis mentioned, "I think there won't be a trial in the end," emphasizing Weinstein's reluctance for a retrial and the state's possible aversion to it.
Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law professor Deborah Tuerkheimer, a former assistant district attorney, highlighted the impact on accusers, stating that the decision for a second trial will depend on the willingness of the women involved to testify again. Tuerkheimer expressed, "I think ultimately this will come down to whether they feel it's something they want to do, are able to do."
Jane Manning, director of Women's Equal Justice, echoed similar sentiments, emphasizing the importance of the accusers' willingness to testify once more. Manning stated, "the biggest question is whether the two women are willing to testify again."
The legal process leading to a potential retrial is expected to involve lengthy disputes between legal teams regarding admissible evidence and testimonies. A woman who Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting mentioned that she is currently contemplating whether she would testify in the event of a retrial.
"The experience was retraumatizing and grueling and exhausting and all the things," she expressed during a press briefing alongside her lawyer, Gloria Allred. "I definitely don't want to actually go through that again. But for the sake of keeping going and doing the right thing and because it is what happened, I would consider it."
Haley, a former "Project Runway" production assistant also known as Mimi Haleyi, shared in court that Weinstein attacked her inside his apartment in July 2006, despite her repeated refusals. He forcibly performed oral sex on her. In a 2020 civil lawsuit, Haley described the horror, humiliation, and lasting pain she endured.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul stated on Friday that her office is evaluating the impact of the ruling and how the state can ensure that all women feel safe when coming forward.
"I don't want this to be a moment of stifling the environment that was created where finally we were calling out people who were abusing women in their presence," Hochul emphasized. "We don't want to have any setbacks where there's this sense that you now have to be silenced, and that's something that we have to protect."
