Harvey Weinstein back in New York court as California requests extradition over rape conviction

Harvey Weinstein was back in a New York City courtroom on Thursday as he faces extradition to California to serve his sentence for raping a woman in Los Angeles, after an appeals court overturned his sexual assault conviction in New York.

Having left a hospital just days earlier, the 72-year-old convicted rapist was brought into Queens criminal court in a wheelchair and dressed in a dark suit to face his extradition hearing.

The disgraced movie mogul will remain behind bars in New York until the court determines whether he should stay in the state while awaiting a retrial in his case there or if he should be sent to California to serve his other sentence there.

In the brief hearing, Weinstein denied his consent for an extradition request from California, with his attorney saying that the hearing was normal procedure and that California first needs to produce a warrant signed by the governor.

“They are not in a position to extradite Mr Weinstein because they have not done what they need to do,” attorney Diana Fabi Samson said outside court, according to The Associated Press.

Ms Samson added that his main concern is making sure that Weinstein continues to receive medical care while he remains in New York custody.

“He’s holding up the best he can,” the attorney said.

Weinstein had been receiving medical treatment at a New York City hospital after complaining about getting chest pains shortly after being moved to Rikers Island jail on April 27.

He was then returned to the jail after corrections officers found he was staying in a private room and was given “special treatment” that other inmates would not usually get.

He is due to return to court on August 7.

In 2023, Weinstein was found guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault for raping an Italian model and actor at a 2013 Los Angeles film festival in the run-up to that year’s Academy Awards. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles.

His victim made a statement to the court back in 2023 describing the toll Weinstein’s actions took on her.

“Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God,” she said.

“I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage.”

The LA sentence was on hold while he served time in New York after being found guilty of raping and assaulting two women at his trial in Manhattan in 2020.

He was sentenced to 23 years at a prison in upstate New York.

However, late last month, the disgraced producer’s 2020 landmark #MeToo rape conviction was overturned after the New York Court of Appeals found that a judge had made a series of questionable decisions at trial.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has vowed to retry him on the charges.

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” a spokesperson for DA Bragg’s office told The Independent at the time.

Prosecutors claimed in a hearing last week that they could be ready for a new trial as soon as September and that at least one of his two alleged victims is willing to testify again.

Meanwhile, Weinstein’s spokesperson Juda Engelmeyer told the New York Post that, now the Hollywood mogul is “no longer a convicted felon in New York, California is obligated to request his presence to begin serving his 16-year sentence there,” he

“As he’s not technically a criminal in New York, he’s technically a fugitive of California justice. It’s Gavin Newsome’s way of showing his electorate that he’s ‘doing something’ about Harvey,” Mr Engelmeyer said.