Harvey Weinstein’s Extradition to Los Angeles Has Been Delayed

By Gene Maddaus

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Harvey Weinstein will not be coming to Los Angeles anytime soon.

The incarcerated producer is awaiting extradition to face five charges of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said on March 11 that it was beginning the extradition process. But as of Monday, it had yet to file its extradition request with authorities in New York.

“It’s fair to say that the virus has delayed the processing of the extradition paperwork,” said Los Angeles D.A. spokesman Greg Risling.

Weinstein is housed at Wende Correctional Facility, a maximum-security prison near Buffalo, where he has begun to serve his 23-year sentence for committing a “criminal sexual act” and third-degree rape.

His attorneys have filed a notice of appeal, but have yet to file their full memorandum laying out all the grounds for appeal, said Weinstein’s spokesman Juda Engelmayer.

Weinstein was sentenced on March 11 — just before the coronavirus caused a massive shutdown of many court functions in Los Angeles and New York. Los Angeles authorities filed a detainer — a formal notice instructing New York prison authorities not to release him — on March 13.

The L.A. prosecutors filed an amended complaint against Weinstein on April 10, charging him with an additional count of sexual battery by restraint in connection with an incident at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010. He also faces four charges related to two incidents at hotels in February 2013. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to an additional 29 years in prison.

In Los Angeles, about 400 of the county’s 580 courtrooms have been closed for the last two months. Trials have been suspended and postponed, as courts are handling only essential and time-sensitive functions.

However, the county has announced it will reopen the closed courtrooms on June 10 and that hearings will resume on June 22. The court system has implemented social distancing measures, and requires court employees and visitors to wear masks.