People v. Harvey Weinstein — New York & Los Angeles (2020, 2022 & 2025)

Case at a Glance

Who Is Harvey Weinstein?

Harvey Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood for approximately 30 years. Born on March 19, 1952, in Queens, New York, he co-founded Miramax Films with his brother Bob in 1979. Miramax produced or distributed some of the most acclaimed films of the 1980s and 1990s, including Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare in Love, and Chicago. After leaving Miramax, he co-founded The Weinstein Company in 2005.

Weinstein was known for leveraging his enormous industry power to win films awards and shape careers. He was also, as decades of reporting would eventually confirm, using that same power to coerce, assault, and abuse women who sought his professional assistance.

The Exposés That Ignited MeToo

On October 5, 2017, The New York Times published an investigation by reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey revealing that Weinstein had reached at least 8 settlements with women who accused him of sexual misconduct over decades. 5 days later, The New Yorker published Ronan Farrow's investigation citing 13 women who alleged sexual misconduct, including 3 who said Weinstein had raped them.

The reporting triggered the global MeToo movement. Within weeks, more than 80 women had publicly accused Weinstein of a range of conduct from sexual harassment to rape. He was fired from The Weinstein Company, expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and lost his professional status entirely.

The 2020 New York Trial

Weinstein was arrested in New York on May 25, 2018, and charged with rape and criminal sexual acts. His 2020 New York trial began on January 6, 2020. The jury heard from 2 primary accusers:

• Miriam Haley (also known as Mimi Haleyi): a former production assistant on Project Runway who testified that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at his Manhattan apartment in July 2006
• Jessica Mann: an actress who testified that Weinstein raped her in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013

The prosecution also called 3 additional women as Molineux witnesses - witnesses who testify about prior bad acts not formally charged in the case - to show Weinstein had a pattern of conduct.

On February 24, 2020, the jury found Weinstein GUILTY of first-degree criminal sexual act against Haley and third-degree rape of Mann. He was acquitted on 3 other counts, including both counts of predatory sexual assault which carried potential life sentences. Justice Burke sentenced him to 23 years in prison on March 11, 2020.

Why Was the 2020 New York Conviction Overturned?

Weinstein appealed, arguing the trial judge made legal errors by allowing the 3 Molineux witnesses to testify. On April 25, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction 4-3.

The majority held that the trial judge had erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose. In plainer terms: the Molineux witnesses were allowed to testify not to prove a specific element of the charged crimes but simply to make Weinstein look like a repeat offender, which violated his constitutional rights. The 3-judge dissent argued this was a step backward for survivors of sexual violence.

Despite the ruling, Weinstein was not released because his Los Angeles conviction and 16-year sentence remained in effect.

The 2022 Los Angeles Trial

Weinstein was also prosecuted in Los Angeles County, facing charges from 4 women covering alleged acts between 2004 and 2013. The LA trial ran from October to December 2022. Unlike New York, California law allows prior bad acts evidence of propensity to commit sex crimes even when the acts have not been formally charged. This distinction proved significant.

On December 19, 2022, the LA jury convicted Weinstein on 3 of 7 counts: 1 count of rape in the first degree and 2 counts of sexual assault. He was acquitted on 1 count and the jury hung on 3 others. On February 23, 2023, Judge Lisa Lench sentenced Weinstein to 16 years in prison, to be served consecutively after any New York sentence. In June 2025, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld the LA conviction but vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing after the NY conviction (which had been used to enhance the LA sentence) was overturned.

The 2025 New York Retrial

With the 2020 NY conviction overturned, the Manhattan District Attorney's office pursued a retrial. The retrial began on April 23, 2025, before Judge Curtis Farber. This time the prosecution was limited to charges related to 3 women, and the Molineux approach was restricted:

• Miriam Haley (criminal sexual act, 2006)
• Kaja Sokola (criminal sexual act, 2006; a new accuser not in the 2020 trial)
• Jessica Mann (third-degree rape, 2013)

Weinstein, now 73, appeared in court in poor health using a wheelchair. He did not testify.

On June 11, 2025, after several contentious days of jury deliberations marked by internal conflict, the jury returned a split verdict: GUILTY of committing a criminal sexual act against Haley; NOT GUILTY of the sexual act against Sokola; and a MISTRIAL on the rape charge involving Jessica Mann (the jury foreperson had complained of being threatened by fellow jurors and refused to return to the deliberation room).

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg confirmed the office would pursue a 4th trial on the Jessica Mann rape count, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for July 2, 2025.

Is Harvey Weinstein Still in Jail?

Is Harvey Weinstein in jail? Yes. Weinstein remains imprisoned. He was transferred to California authorities because his 16-year LA sentence stands. He is serving that sentence while awaiting the 4th New York trial on the Jessica Mann count.

Weinstein has significant health issues including heart problems, kidney disease, and severe vision impairment. He has been a wheelchair user throughout his various trial proceedings. His lawyers have periodically raised his deteriorating health in legal filings, though those arguments have not produced any release.

Timeline

The Harvey Weinstein case is the legal centerpiece of the MeToo era, a case that has now produced 4 trials across 2 states, multiple conviction and appeal cycles, and continuing legal proceedings that have extended for more than 7 years since his first arrest.