Harvey Weinstein is shaking up his defense roster again as Manhattan courts brace for what could become his third New York trial on a rape charge. Court filings now list Jacob Kaplan, Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos as his trial lawyers, while longtime attorney Arthur Aidala steps back from the day-to-day courtroom brawl to concentrate on appeals and civil cases.
The Associated Press reports that the new lineup was formally confirmed in papers filed Tuesday. The outlet also notes that prosecutors had previously floated a guilty plea deal, which Weinstein turned down.
New team brings headline wins and courtroom swagger
Kaplan is not exactly a fresh face in this saga. He was part of Weinstein’s original defense team back in 2018 and is now returning with some high-profile backup. According to NBC New York, Agnifilo and Geragos have already logged big wins in other headline-making cases, including trials involving Luigi Mangione and Sean “Diddy” Combs. The trio comes in with a reputation for aggressive, high-stakes defense work, the kind of team you hire when the margin for error is basically zero.
Calendar clash: Mangione case could jam the schedule
There is one immediate headache: the calendar. Kaplan and Agnifilo are also representing Luigi Mangione in separate state and federal cases tied to the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione’s state trial is currently set to kick off June 8. The Associated Press notes that this overlap could create real scheduling friction if judges try to launch Weinstein’s trial while the Mangione matter is underway.
What’s at stake for Weinstein
The legal exposure on the table is still enormous. Weinstein faces a first-degree criminal sex act charge involving Miriam Haley that carries a potential sentence of up to 25 years. He also remains charged with third-degree rape involving Jessica Mann, which could add up to four years.
The current retrial path opened after New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 conviction. That ruling reshaped the case and set in motion the recent mistrial and rebooted proceedings, as detailed by The Washington Post.
Previous coverage has already spotlighted how messy things have gotten inside the jury box and behind the scenes. Hoodline chronicled those twists, including juror disputes and appeal maneuvers, in a piece on Weinstein’s juror bullying fight, tracing how infighting and legal sniping fed into last year’s split verdict.
Legal implications
The revamped setup effectively splits Weinstein’s defense into two tracks. Kaplan, Agnifilo and Geragos will be the ones in the well of the courtroom, expected to lean heavily on procedural and technical defenses, while Aidala handles the long-game strategy in appellate courts and on the civil front.
NBC New York reports that Aidala has described the shakeup as amicable and has said he will keep pressing Weinstein’s appellate claims even as the new trial team digs in.
Weinstein is due back in a Manhattan courtroom for a status conference on March 4, after what was supposed to be a March 3 trial start got pushed back. Prosecutors have warned that any full-blown trial could run for several weeks. CBS New York reports that judges will now have to juggle Weinstein’s case against the defense team’s other trial commitments when they decide what the new calendar looks like.
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