NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Prosecutors are asking a Manhattan judge to consolidate the two sex crime cases that Harvey Weinstein faces in New York into a single trial this year 鈥� a move that the disgraced movie mogul鈥檚 lawyers oppose.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg鈥檚 office argued in court filings released Friday that the cases have significant overlap as they involve similar criminal statutes, witnesses, expert testimony and documentary evidence.
They say separate trials would be 鈥渆xtraordinarily inefficient and burdensome鈥� and waste judicial resources.
鈥淭here is a strong public interest in consolidating these indictments for trial because separate trials would require duplicative, lengthy, and expensive proceedings that would needlessly consume judicial and party resources,鈥� the office wrote in its filings.
Weinstein is awaiting retrial on two sex charges stemming from his after the state鈥檚 highest court earlier this year.
He also pleaded not guilty last month to a in which prosecutors say he forced oral sex on a woman in a Manhattan hotel in spring 2006.
Weinstein鈥檚 lawyers, in court filings submitted earlier this month, argued the cases should remain separate.
They said prosecutors are attempting to 鈥渆xpand the scope鈥� of the court-ordered retrial and transform it into 鈥渁n entirely new proceeding鈥� by including the new charges.
鈥淗aving deprived Defendant of a fair trial once, the People unapologetically鈥攊ndeed, unabashedly鈥攕eek to do so again by smuggling an additional charge into the case for the improper purpose of bolstering the credibility of the complainant in the 2024 indictment,鈥� Weinstein鈥檚 lawyers wrote.
A judge is expected to consider the arguments at a hearing later this month.
Weinstein, who has been in custody since his conviction, was also of rape in 2022, though his lawyers have .
The 72-year-old co-founded the film and television production companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company and, produced films such as 鈥淪hakespeare in Love鈥� and 鈥淭he Crying Game.鈥�
Manhattan prosecutors, in their filings, laid out some of their plans for the upcoming retrial, which had been slated to open Nov. 12.
They said they intend to call 12 to 15 witnesses to testify on issues relevant to both the new and old charges, including the victims and corroborating witnesses.
Prosecutors said they鈥檒l also call on experts with knowledge of Weinstein鈥檚 鈥渟tatus and influence in the entertainment industry鈥� both in order to 鈥渆stablish the power imbalance鈥� between the once-powerful producer and the victims, many of whom worked in the industry.
They also anticipate testimony from a photographer who can corroborate testimony from the victims about 鈥渄istinctive features鈥� of Weinstein鈥檚 body, something that was also a focus during his prior trial.
Weinstein's lawyers, meanwhile, complained that prosecutors had long been aware of the allegations in the latest criminal indictment yet 鈥渉eld this case in their back pocket for years.鈥�
They said Bragg's office had been in contact with the latest accuser going back to Weinstein's original trial and that she's changed her stories about her interactions with Weinstein over the years.
Lindsay Goldbrum, an attorney that represents the woman, didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.
She's previously said the woman has never made her accusation public and doesn鈥檛 want to be identified for now.
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Philip Marcelo, The Associated Press
