Post by Hey Man on Apr 25, 2024 9:20:32 GMT -5
Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned Thursday in New York, making way for a new trial.
The state Court of Appeals found that the judge in the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the former film mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
“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 because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the court's 4-3 decision said.
“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light,” it said.
The court called the errors “egregious” and ordered a new trial, meaning his accusers could again be called to testify.
Judge Madeline Singas, in the dissenting opinion, accused the majority of "whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative" and failing to recognize that the jury was allowed to consider Weinstein's past assaults.
"This Court has continued a disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence," Singas wrote.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said they are "thrilled with the court’s decision."
"We obviously have a long road ahead of us in California," Engelmayer said in a statement.
Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and 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 was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
Weinstein's lawyers argued Judge James Burke's rulings in favour of the prosecution turned the trial into "1-800-GET-HARVEY."
The reversal of Weinstein's conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the last two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision to throw out Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction.
Weinstein's conviction stood for more than four years, heralded by activists and advocates as a milestone achievement, but dissected just as quickly by his lawyers and, later, the Court of Appeals when it heard arguments on the matter in February.
Allegations against Weinstein, the once powerful and feared studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, ushered in the #MeToo movement. 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 state at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 160 kilometres northwest of Albany.
He maintains his innocence. He contends any sexual activity was consensual.
The state Court of Appeals found that the judge in the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the former film mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
“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 because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the court's 4-3 decision said.
“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light,” it said.
The court called the errors “egregious” and ordered a new trial, meaning his accusers could again be called to testify.
Judge Madeline Singas, in the dissenting opinion, accused the majority of "whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative" and failing to recognize that the jury was allowed to consider Weinstein's past assaults.
"This Court has continued a disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence," Singas wrote.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said they are "thrilled with the court’s decision."
"We obviously have a long road ahead of us in California," Engelmayer said in a statement.
Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and 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 was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
Weinstein's lawyers argued Judge James Burke's rulings in favour of the prosecution turned the trial into "1-800-GET-HARVEY."
The reversal of Weinstein's conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the last two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision to throw out Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction.
Weinstein's conviction stood for more than four years, heralded by activists and advocates as a milestone achievement, but dissected just as quickly by his lawyers and, later, the Court of Appeals when it heard arguments on the matter in February.
Allegations against Weinstein, the once powerful and feared studio boss behind such Oscar winners as Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, ushered in the #MeToo movement. 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 state at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 160 kilometres northwest of Albany.
He maintains his innocence. He contends any sexual activity was consensual.
