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Harvey Weinstein won a partial victory in Los Angeles court on Thursday, persuading a judge to dismiss one of 11 sexual assault charges against him.
Judge Lisa B. Lench agreed to dismiss the charge on prescription grounds, but allowed prosecutors to amend the indictment and re-file it.
Outside of court, Weinstein’s lawyers hailed the ruling as an important victory, noting that one of the five accusers was dismissed from the case.
“Count 5 is dead,” defense attorney Mark Werksman said in court. “We are off to a good start. “
Weinstein was taken to court, wearing a surgical mask and a brown prison jumpsuit. He did not speak at the hearing except when he agreed to the next hearing date, September 13.
Deputy District Attorney Paul Thompson told the court prosecutors would amend the indictment and re-file it later Thursday. Weinstein should then be brought to justice again, having pleaded not guilty to the original indictment last week.
Lench sided with the prosecution on two other counts, which date from 2004-05. Defense attorney Alan Jackson argued that these charges should also be dismissed due to the statute of limitations. Lench disagreed.
The dismissed count relates to an incident in a Beverly Hills hotel room on May 11, 2010. Prosecutors first filed the charge of coercive sexual violence in April 2020, just within the time limit of 10 years provided for by law.
The defense argued that when Weinstein was indicted on the same charge this year, it created a new case, with a new case number, and that, therefore, the law had expired. Thompson argued in court that the indictment was not a new case and that it simply replaced the original complaint.
Thompson also noted that the wording relating to the charge in both documents was identical.
Lench concluded that the indictment must include a factual allegation as to why the law had not expired, and that without it, the charge must be dismissed. Thompson said he would amend the indictment to include such a request. Defense lawyers argued that there is no fact that can save the charge.
Weinstein was extradited last week from New York City, where he was serving a 23-year sentence in a jail near Buffalo. He is being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility. Werksman said his client was “cautiously optimistic” about the deal.
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