Will Harvey Weinstein's MeToo retrial begin soon? Court decides today
What's the story
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein will return to court on Wednesday, where Judge Curtis Farber will decide when his #MeToo retrial will begin.
The judge will also decide if an additional charge related to a woman not involved in the original case will be included.
Weinstein's legal team has requested the dismissal of this extra charge, arguing that it was added by Manhattan prosecutors solely to strengthen their case with a third accuser.
Scheduling challenges
Weinstein's retrial was complicated by crowded court calendar
The scheduling of Weinstein's retrial has been further complicated by an already packed court calendar.
His lawyer, Arthur Aidala, is also representing conservative strategist Steve Bannon in a border wall fraud trial set to begin on March 4 before a different Manhattan judge. Meanwhile, Judge Farber is also expected to preside over a murder trial in March.
These commitments have made finding a suitable date for Weinstein's retrial difficult.
Health concerns
Weinstein's declining health a factor in retrial scheduling
Before Bannon's trial date was set last week, Aidala had argued that Weinstein's trial should be prioritized because the former film producer's health is declining.
"They know that Mr. Weinstein is dying of cancer and is an innocent man right now in the state of New York," Aidala argued in court last week.
He begged prosecutors: "Can I try this dying man's case first?"
Additional accusation
New charge added to Weinstein's retrial
Weinstein is due for retrial on charges of forcibly performing oral sex on a movie and TV production assistant in 2006 and raping an aspiring actor in 2013.
The new charge, filed last September, accuses him of forcing oral sex on another woman at a Manhattan hotel in 2006.
She had approached prosecutors days before Weinstein's first trial began but wasn't included in it.
Case review
Prosecutors revisited allegations after Weinstein's conviction was overturned
Initially, prosecutors didn't pursue the woman's allegations after Weinstein was convicted and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
However, they revisited these claims and secured a new indictment after New York's highest court overturned his conviction last April. The court cited errors in the original trial as grounds for its ruling.
Judge Farber decided in October to merge this new indictment with the existing charges into one trial.
Legal dispute
Weinstein's lawyers argue prejudice in additional charge
Weinstein's lawyers have contended that the prosecutors exhibited bias by waiting almost five years to add the extra charge.
They argued that prosecutors deliberately left this allegation out of his first trial, intending to use it later if his conviction was overturned.
In response, prosecutors called this argument "absurd," adding that Weinstein's legal team would have been equally outraged had he been charged on the third woman's allegation during his first trial or soon after his conviction.
Career downfall
Weinstein's fall from grace and ongoing legal battles
Weinstein, who co-founded film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company, was once a titan of Hollywood.
His reputation fell apart in 2017 when he became the poster villain of the #MeToo movement as women came forward to publicly share accounts of his behavior.
Despite the allegations, Weinstein has always maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.