Harvey Weinstein´s lawyer has said that that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City.
Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails.
Aidala said: ‘They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically.
‘He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise.’
The New York Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the disgraced movie producer did not receive a fair trial when he was convicted in 2020.
Weinstein,72, has been serving 23 years in a New York jail for the two sex attacks against aspiring actress Jessica Mann and production assistant Mimi Haleyi. He was handed a further 16 years following his conviction in LA in 2022.
Attorney Arthur Aidala said Weinstein, seen here in 2020, was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after his arrival on Friday to city jails
Weinstein, pictured with ex-wife Georgina Chapman in happier times, was a titan of the movie industry before allegations of sexual abuse made him the face of the #MeToo movement
The ruling concluded that a trial judge permitted jurors to see and hear too much evidence not directly related to the charges he faced. It also erased his 23-year prison sentence and ordered a retrial.
Prosecutors said they intend to retry him on charges that he forcibly performed oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and raped an aspiring actor in 2013.
Weinstein remained in custody after the appeals ruling because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
For some time, Weinstein has been ailing with a variety of afflictions, including cardiac issues, diabetes, sleep apnea and eye problems.
Aidala said he spoke to Weinstein on Friday afternoon after he was in transit to New York City from an upstate jail less than 24 hours after the appeals ruling, which was released Thursday morning.
He said his client’s ailments are physical, adding that mentally he is ‘sharp as a tack. Feet are firmly planted on the ground.’
The lawyer said it usually takes state corrections and prisons officials a week or two to arrange to transport a prisoner.
‘He was not treated well. They refused to give him even a sip of water, no food, no bathroom break,’ Aidala said. ‘He’s a 72-year-old sickly man.’
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Jessica Mann (pictured at court in 2020) at her home in Manhattan in 2013
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi, seen walking into his sentencing in New York in 2020
Aidala said he was told that Bellevue doctors planned to run a lot of tests on Weinstein before he can be returned to the Rikers Island jail complex.
The lawyer said he’s scheduled to meet with Weinstein on Monday. He added that he plans to tell a judge when Weinstein goes to court on Wednesday in Manhattan that a retrial should occur after Labor Day.
Weinstein became the face of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women came forward alleging sexual abuse. Thursday’s decision was described as ‘profoundly unjust’ by his accusers.
A new trial has been ordered after it was determined Justice James M. Burke, who presided over Weinstein’s New York City case in 2020, made a ‘crucial’ mistake during the initial trial.
In a 4-3 decision, the appellant court determined that the Judge Burke had made an error in allowing women to testify who were not part of the case.
‘The news today is not only disheartening, but it’s profoundly unjust,’ a statement from Silence Breakers, the group behind the #MeToo movement said.
‘But this ruling does not diminish the validity of our experiences or our truth; it’s merely a setback. The man found guilty continues to serve time in a California prison.
‘We continue to stand strong and advocate for that change. We will continue to fight for justice for survivors everywhere.’
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to publicly accuse Weinstein, shared her disappointment with the ruling.
Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 October 2022
Justice James M. Burke, seen in a court sketch in 2020, was blamed for a ‘crucial’ mistake in Weinstein’s New York trial
‘That’s really hard for the survivors … We still live in our truth. And we know what happened,’ she told the New York Times.
But Weinstein’s lawyer hailed the decision as, ‘not just a victory for Mr Weinstein, but for every criminal defendant in the state of New York’.
‘We compliment the court of appeals for upholding the most basic principles that a criminal defendant should have in a trial,’ he told the outlet.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg vowed to do ‘everything in our power’ to retry the case, adding his office, ‘remains steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.’
If his second appeal against his Los Angeles is successful, the shamed film boss could walk free.
Defense attorney Mark Werksman who defended Weinstein in the LA case was optimistic about his chances.
‘This is a great outcome and the right result. We faced the same fundamental unfairness in the Los Angeles case where the judge allowed the jury to hear evidence about four uncharged and unproven allegations of sexual assault, Werksman told DailyMail.com.
Weinstein was jailed in New York for the two attacks in 2006 and 2013. He was convicted of third degree rape against Mann and criminal sexual act against Haleyi, but acquitted of first degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
The court heard Mann was attacked by Weinstein in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
Haleyi testified that he forcibly performed oral sex on her in his apartment while she had her period in 2006.
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