Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein is expected back in a New York court on Wednesday, days after his state rape conviction was overturned.
Manhattan prosecutors have indicated they plan to retry his case after an appeals court ruled last week he did not receive a fair trial in 2020.
Weinstein, 72, was admitted to a hospital in the city two days after his conviction was quashed.
He remains jailed because of a separate rape conviction in California.
Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case.
Last week, the New York state appeals court ruled that the judge overseeing the former Hollywood mogul’s case had erred when he allowed the testimony of women who made allegations about Weinstein for which he was never charged.
The judge had “erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes”, the appeals court ruled by a vote of 4 to 3.
The decision also said the trial judge compounded the error by letting Weinstein be cross-examined in a way that portrayed him in a “highly prejudicial” light.”The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial,” the court found.
In a statement on Friday, the Manhattan prosecutor’s office vowed to work towards a second conviction, although it did not provide any timeline.
“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
Arthur Aidala, the movie mogul’s lawyer, hailed the decision as a “victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York”.
The topic of the hearing on Wednesday is unclear. Mr Aidala said discussions would focus on matters including evidence and scheduling.
One top issue is expected to be where Weinstein will remain.
He had been staying in a prison in upstate New York, but was moved to the city after his conviction was quashed.He was taken to hospital for what his lawyer described as “immediate medical attention” and “a myriad of tests”. (BBC)
