New York, NY – Harvey Weinstein faces uncertainty as authorities determine his fate between remaining in a New York jail or being extradited to California to serve his prison sentence for rape. The fallen movie mogul, appearing in court in a wheelchair, did not agree to California’s extradition request during the hearing on Thursday. Following the hearing, Weinstein, 72, was returned to Rikers Island jail from a city hospital where he was recently receiving treatment.
Judge Joanne Watters stated that California must produce a warrant signed by the governor within 90 days. Weinstein’s lawyer, Diana Fabi Samson, mentioned that California has not fulfilled the necessary requirements for Mr. Weinstein’s extradition. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office that prosecuted Weinstein referred queries about extradition to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which has yet to respond to inquiries.
Weinstein’s next appearance regarding the extradition matter is set for August 7, just ahead of New York prosecutors’ preparations for a possible retrial. Weinstein was handed a 16-year sentence in California in 2023 for raping a woman at a 2013 Los Angeles film festival, a sentence that had been on hold while he served a 23-year term in New York.
After Weinstein’s 2020 conviction in New York was overturned, Manhattan prosecutors expressed their intention to retry him, with at least one accuser willing to testify again. The charges against Weinstein in New York, including rape of an aspiring actor in 2013 and sexual assault of a TV and film production assistant in 2006, were denied by the former movie executive. The case against Weinstein was viewed as a significant moment in the #MeToo movement, which gained momentum in 2017 with numerous allegations against him.
Following the appeal court’s decision, Weinstein was moved from an upstate New York prison to city custody and then to Bellevue Hospital for medical treatment. Concerns about his medical care while in custody have been raised by Weinstein’s representatives. Craig Rothfeld, a jail consultant working with Weinstein’s legal team, emphasized that city officials made the decision on where to house Weinstein without input from his legal team. Rumors about Weinstein’s accommodations and health issues have circulated, but Rothfeld clarified that he has been in a hospital setting since his incarceration, emphasizing the need for appropriate medical care.