Weinstein Enters Plea in LA

Former movie mogul arraigned after being extradited from New York
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 21, 2021 6:25 PM CDT
Weinstein Enters Plea in LA
Harvey Weinstein arrives at an arraignment hearing Wednesday in Los Angeles.   (KABC/Pool Photo via AP)

After being taken across the country from his New York prison cell to a Los Angeles courtroom, Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 11 counts of sexual assault. New York state had turned Weinstein over to California authorities on Tuesday after he lost a court battle opposing extradition. The only thing Weinstein said during the arraignment was "thank you," after the judge wished him luck, the Los Angeles Times reports. Weinstein is charged with crimes against five women between 2004 and 2013. "He absolutely, unequivocally and categorically denies the allegations in this indictment," said Mark Werksman, Weinstein's lawyer, per CNN. "They're unprovable, unproven, uncredible, and unsubstantiated." Saying the statute of limitations has expired, Werksman filed a motion to dismiss three of the counts. A hearing on that motion is scheduled for July 29.

Gloria Allred, attorney for two of the women, said the hearing represented the first time Weinstein has been called to answer the allegations made against him in California. The women who accused him of these crimes had waited for Weinstein to first be tried in New York, where he was convicted last year of sex crimes and given a 23-year sentence. "There has been, to date, no access to justice for those who are victims in the Los Angeles case," Allred said outside court. The judge agreed Wednesday to a medical evaluation of Weinstein, after his lawyer told the court he's losing his vision in one eye and suffers from spinal stenosis. "We will be fighting so that Harvey can receive his needed medical care," a spokesperson said, per KABC. (More Harvey Weinstein stories.)

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