Now that his New York sex crime convictions have been overturned, disgraced former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein will go through hearings on bail and learn if he will be extradited to California, where he was found guilty of other sexual offenses, according to a legal expert.
Michael Bachner, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan’s DA Office, told The Post that Weinstein will likely seek bail following the court’s decision in order to walk out of the Mohawk Correctional Facility, where he has been held following his 2020 trial.
“Procedurally his lawyers are going to make a request, to either the trial court or appellate court, for bail on the grounds that his conviction has been reversed,” Bachner said.
Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in New York following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on former “Project Runway” production assistant Miriam “Mimi” Haleyi in 2006 and raping hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
Weinstein’s legal team said he will be transported back to the Manhattan courtroom from the upstate prison, with the embattled former producer likely to be placed at Rikers Island or Bellevue Hospital.
“It’s like his case begins brand new, like those days almost six years ago, when he was initially arrested and brought in. We start from scratch,” defense attorney Arthur Aidala told reporters during a news conference Thursday.
The former Hollywood producer, however, may also undergo a separate hearing to be moved to Los Angeles pending his retrial in New York, Bachner added.
Weinstein’s reps told The Post Thursday that he was “emotional” and “happy” and they were still working out his future steps.
“The next steps are we have to find out what the deal is with Los Angeles – how soon they are going to call for extradition,” said spokesperson Juda Engelmayer.
“We want to get him relocated to a medical facility here in New York City closer to his family and home and the lawyers are going to be filing an appeal in LA. We expect he’ll have to go out to LA to serve some time there.”
Englemayer said it would likely take a week to get Weinstein out of the prison, with LA defense attorney Jennifer Bonjean now feeling positive about the appeal in the California rape case.
Weinstein was sentenced in February 2023 to 16 years in prison in a separate Los Angeles criminal case for raping an Italian model Evgeniya Chernyshova at a film festival in 2013. The sentence was meant to be served concurrently with his New York conviction.
“That jury was under the assumption that Mr. Weinstein had been fairly convicted in New York, and that didn’t turn out to be true,” Bonjean told The Post. “So I’m very optimistic about the California case.”
Harvey Weinstein's sex crime conviction overturned: Key facts
- Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape conviction was overturned in a 4-3 ruling by New York state’s highest court.
- The New York State Court of Appeals found that Manhattan Judge James Burke “erroneously” allowed testimony from three women whose allegations weren’t connected to the case.
- The 72-year-old has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex and raping two women.
- Weinstein will remain behind bars because of a February 2023 conviction, sentencing him to 16 years in prison for raping an Italian model in 2013.
Bachner said the ball was in the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on whether to retry Weinstein and whether they’ll seek to keep him in New York.
A spokesperson for DA Alvin Bragg’s office told The Post it will seek a retrial for Weinstein.
“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” the spokesperson said.
The DA’s Office did not give a timeline on how the Weinstein case will proceed, nor did it comment on whether it will seek to extradite him to Los Angeles.
Bachner said the decision could be made in the coming days, but could ultimately take weeks to coordinate.
The new trial itself will likely take months, Bachner added, as the DA’s Office is currently in the middle of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial.
Additional reporting by David Thompson.
