Disgraced Film Producer Harvey Weinstein To Be Extradited From NY To LA To Face Sex Assault Charges
Disgraced Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault, can be extradited to California to stand trial on additional sexual assault charges, a New York judge ruled Tuesday.
Judge Kenneth Case said there was no reason to delay the 69-year-old's transfer. Weinstein's legal team had claimed that Los Angeles prosecutors did not properly fill out paperwork, an argument that Case rejected.
Weinstein's legal team said they will appeal. Weinstein's lawyer had requested to keep him at maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo to receive proper medical care.
Appearing on video from the jail, Weinstein placed his hands on his head after hearing Case's decision.
Los Angeles prosecutors plan to extradite Weinstein between late June and mid-July. Weinstein, who was convicted in New York in February 2020, was indicted on 11 counts of sexual assault in Los Angeles County in January 2020 for attacks on five women from 2004 to 2013.
Weinstein's team has long noted that he has "significant medical issues." He was seen using a walker in February 2020 and was taken to a hospital due to heart palpitations and high blood pressure. He also reportedly suffers from Type 2 diabetes and his legal team says he is nearly blind.
Weinstein's attorney said he would not receive adequate medical care at a jail in California. “Prisons are designed for long-term incarceration. Jails are not,” Weinstein's attorney said.
Erie County assistant district attorney Colleen Gable dismissed the assertion.
“It’s not like this is some remote outpost without medical care,” Gable said. “Los Angeles has some of the best medical care in not only this country, but the world.”
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