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Harvey Weinstein has been moved to a New York City hospital after a judge approved the ailing ex-studio boss’s request to stay there rather than in jail when he is not in court for his retrial on rape and sexual assault charges.
The judge, Paul Goetz, late on Thursday ordered that Weinstein, 73, be immediately relocated from the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex to the prison ward at Bellevue hospital in Manhattan so he can receive necessary medical treatment.
Weinstein’s lawyers lobbied for the move as jury selection got under way this week. They argued in court papers that being locked up in a sometimes freezing jail cell was exacerbating the disgraced movie mogul’s health issues, which include chronic myeloid leukemia, diabetes and walking difficulties that require a wheelchair to get in and out of court.
Goetz’s order will remain in effect at least until a hearing next Thursday.
A different judge, Curtis Farber, is presiding over Weinstein’s retrial. The case will resume on Monday with more jury selection after nine jurors were picked this week. In all, 12 jurors and six alternates need to be seated.
Weinstein is being tried again on rape and sexual assault charges after New York’s highest court, the court of appeals, last year overturned his 2020 conviction and 23-year prison sentence and ordered a new trial, finding that improper rulings and prejudicial testimony tainted the original one.
Weinstein has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone.
He has been back and forth numerous times to Bellevue in recent months for treatment of various maladies.
Weinstein’s lawyers filed a legal claim against New York City last November, alleging he was receiving substandard medical treatment in unhygienic conditions at Rikers. The claim, which seeks $5m in damages, argues that Weinstein has been returned to Rikers each time before fully recovering at the hospital.
The troubled jail complex has faced growing scrutiny for its mistreatment of detainees and dangerous conditions. Last year, a federal judge cleared the way for a possible federal takeover, finding the city had placed inmates in “unconstitutional danger”.
