Harvey Weinstein secretly indicted in Los Angeles on rape charges, fights extradition at N.Y. hearing
Harvey Weinstein was secretly indicted on rape charges in Los Angeles County, the Daily News confirmed, and he objected Monday to his transfer from New York to California to face trial.
His lawyer listed a litany of health problems at an Erie County Court extradition hearing as Weinstein appeared via video wearing a burgundy jail uniform and a pandemic mask slung under his nose.
“We’re not trying to avoid what is going to happen in California. We believe there is not only a defense to these charges, we believe there is a very good defense to these charges — we believe there will be an acquittal,” lawyer Norman Effman said.
Effman argued now is simply not the time to send the 69-year-old Weinstein west. He said Weinstein is suffering from cardiac problems, back issues, eye issues, diabetes, the loss of four teeth and sleep apnea, “all requiring intensive medical treatment.”
“He is almost technically blind at this point and is in need of surgery and shots,” the lawyer said, adding that Weinstein has two upcoming medical appointments pending in New York.
Judge Kenneth Case said Weinstein’s camp has a statutory right to fight the removal, so he gave Effman a week to file new paperwork. The judge is due to rule at a follow-up hearing April 30.
Weinstein, now serving a 23-year sentence at the Wende Correctional Facility in Alden, N.Y., for his February 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault, was recently indicted in Los Angeles County on the same 11 counts listed in his prior criminal complaint, a source told The News.
The indictment covers the same five Jane Does in the amended complaint but has one notable change in terms of narrowing the dates attributed to Jane Doe No. 5, the source said.
Los Angeles prosecutors sought the indictment so they could bypass the type of time-consuming preliminary hearing with public testimony that would otherwise be necessary to convince the court a trial was warranted.
Weinstein’s extradition to Los Angeles already has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the secret indictment was a way for prosecutors to enhance their contention that a transfer at this point would not jeopardize Weinstein’s rights.
The disgraced Hollywood honcho would have a right to a trial within 120 days once he’s “borrowed” from New York, and having an indictment in hand helps prosecutors make the argument they could meet that deadline if Weinstein doesn’t agree to more delays.
His new California-based criminal lawyer, Mark Werksman, said earlier Monday that Weinstein would object to the removal to Los Angeles County for the same reasons Effman stated in court.
“We’re objecting. We don’t think it’s safe for him to be brought to Los Angeles County at this time due to the pandemic,” Werksman told The News.
“He’s got serious medical impairments. He has spinal stenosis. He can’t walk. He’s in a wheelchair. He has macular degeneration. His medical situation is severely impaired, and he has procedures and medical appointments already in the system where he is now,” Werksman said.
Weinstein’s secret indictment in Los Angeles was first reported by Fox News.
Civil rights lawyer Gloria Allred represents two of the Jane Does in the California case and previously told The News that her “brave” clients were willing to testify at trial.
