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Opening Statements Begin in Harvey Weinstein’s Third New York Rape Retrial

The retrial tests how a 2024 ruling limiting other-accuser testimony will shape a #MeToo-era prosecution.

Overview

  • Prosecutors and defense lawyers outlined starkly different stories Tuesday, with the state calling Jessica Mann a vulnerable target and the defense saying her relationship with Harvey Weinstein was consensual.
  • The case focuses on a single count of third-degree rape tied to Mann’s allegation that Weinstein assaulted her in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
  • A 12-person jury of seven men and five women was seated last week after questioning about their knowledge of Weinstein and their ability to be fair.
  • New York’s top court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 convictions in 2024 for allowing unrelated-accuser testimony, and a 2025 retrial ended with a conviction for Miriam Haley, an acquittal on another count, and a mistrial on Mann’s charge.
  • Weinstein remains in custody serving a 16-year California sentence, has switched to a new defense team for this trial, and appeared in court in a wheelchair as the month-long proceeding got underway.