NY judge says Harvey Weinstein can be extradited to California
Harvey Weinstein attended a hearing from Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison. Photo: AAP
Disgraced former movie producer Harvey Weinstein can be extradited to California from New York to face rape and sexual assault charges, a state judge has ruled.
Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case in Buffalo rejected arguments by Weinstein’s lawyer that the paperwork to move the former movie produce to Los Angeles was not in order and that Weinstein should stay in New York to get better medical care.
A New York prosecutor told Mr Case that Los Angeles prosecutors might try to claim custody of Weinstein by mid-July.
Weinstein’s lawyers are trying to put that effort on hold.
“We are disappointed by the judge’s ruling,” one lawyer, Mark Werksman, said in an email.
“We are appealing his decision in New York and we have filed a habeas corpus petition in the Los Angeles Superior Court to prevent the Los Angeles District Attorney from transporting Mr Weinstein to Los Angeles until he can receive the medical care he needs in New York.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office was not immediately available for comment.
Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison term following his February 2020 conviction in Manhattan for sexually assaulting a production assistant in 2006 and third-degree rape of an aspiring actress in 2013.
He faces an 11-count indictment in Los Angeles on charges he attacked five women from 2004 to 2013.
-AAP