Harvey Weinstein returns to New York court for hearing before retrial

• Harvey Weinstein appeared in a New York court on Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges.
• Judge Curtis Farber granted the prosecution's request to combine Weinstein's original case and a new charge into a single trial.
• Weinstein faces a new trial on two counts of sex crimes after his 2020 conviction was overturned earlier this year, and in September he was charged with a new assault. He pleaded not guilty.

Harvey Weinstein returns to a New York court on Wednesday for a hearing ahead of his retrial on sex crime charges stemming from his landmark #MeToo case.

After the hearing began, Judge Curtis Farber granted a prosecutor's request to consolidate that case and a newer charge into a single trial.

The former movie mogul was facing a new trial on two counts of sex crimes after the state's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction earlier this year. Then, in September, he received a new charge accusing him of another assault. He has pleaded not guilty.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO NEW SEX CRIMES CHARGE IN NEW YORK

Weinstein was convicted of forcibly performing oral sex on a film and television production assistant in 2006, and of third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actor in 2013. In the new charge, prosecutors say forced oral sex on a different woman in a Manhattan hotel in the spring of 2006.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office had argued in court papers that holding separate trials would be “extraordinarily inefficient” and waste judicial resources. Prosecutors said the cases have significant overlap as they involve similar criminal statutes, witnesses, expert testimony and documentary evidence.

Weinstein's lawyers had argued in court papers that the cases should remain separate. They said prosecutors are attempting to “broaden the scope” of the court-ordered retrial and transform it into “an entirely new proceeding” by including the new charges.

There is also the question of when Weinstein's retrial is expected to actually begin.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN'S SEXUAL ASSAULT RETRIAL IS SET AFTER RAPE CONVICTION WAS OVERturned

Faber had tentatively scheduled Weinstein's trial to begin Nov. 12, but both defense attorneys and prosecutors have expressed concern that the date would not give his side enough time to prepare.

Weinstein has been held at the city's Rikers Island jail complex and has faced numerous health complications while behind bars.

He was also found guilty of rape in Los Angeles in 2022, although his lawyers appealed.

Sexual assault and harassment allegations against Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement in 2017.

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The 72-year-old former producer co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company. He produced films such as “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Crying Game.”