New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction on Thursday.
It found the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with "egregious" improper rulings.
"We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes," the court's 4-3 decision said.
"The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial."
One of the key issues the court found was a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case.
The state Court of Appeals ruling reopens a chapter in America with sexual misconduct allegations against powerful figures being exposed.
The #MeToo era began to gain widespread momentum in 2017 with a flood of allegations against Weinstein and other big names in Hollywood.
After Thursday's ruling, his accusers could be forced to relive their traumas again on the witness stand.
Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala said immediately after the ruling came out: “We all worked very hard and this is a tremendous victory for every criminal defendant in the state of New York.”
Attorney Douglas H Wigdor, who has represented eight of the 72-year-olds accusers including two witnesses at the New York criminal trial, called the ruling “a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence”.
Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison, following his conviction on charges of criminal sex acts.
The first was for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and the second being rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.
He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Weinstein, the studio boss behind such Oscar winners as “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love,” was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
Dozens of women came forward to accuse Weinstein, including famous actresses such as Ashley Judd and Uma Thurman.
His New York trial drew intense publicity, with protesters chanting “rapist” outside the courthouse.
Weinstein is incarcerated in New York at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany.
He maintains his innocence. He contends any sexual activity was consensual.
Statistics: Posted by EnterpriseSovereign — 2024-04-25 02:16pm