A New York appeals court overturned the 2020 rape conviction of disgraced film executive Harvey Weinstein on Thursday, citing “egregious errors” in the initial trial at the height of the #MeToo movement. The 72-year-old media mogul will remain in prison for a second sexual assault conviction, leaving it up to prosecutors whether the first case will be retried.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in February 2020 after being found guilty of forcing oral sex on production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006, as well as committing a third-degree rape against hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013. Accusations against the Miramax cofounder first surfaced in 2017 following a report by The New Yorker and The New York Times, which included statements from more than a dozen women who claimed Weinstein had sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped them. His accusers included “Charmed” star Rose McGowan and other high-profile actresses and studio employees.
At the time of his conviction—the first major case in the #MeToo era—Weinstein’s downfall was seen as a sign of America’s reckoning with workplace sexual misconduct. However, in its 4-3 decision on Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals challenged the verdict on the grounds that allegations unrelated to the case had been introduced in testimony.
“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 decision read in part. “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
“It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them,” the decision continued.
Learn the benefits of becoming a Valuetainment Member and subscribe today!
In the dissenting minority opinion, Appellate Judge Madeline Singas countered that the decision amounted to the court “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative,” following a “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has signaled its intention to retry the case, meaning Weinstein’s accusers could be forced to take the stand once again. “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” the DA’s office stated.
Despite the overturned verdict, Weinstein will remain incarcerated, serving out a separate 16-year prison sentence for a 2022 rape conviction. He was extradited to California in 2021 to stand trial for sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013, then returned to Mohawk Correctional Facility in upstate New York to serve his sentences concurrently.
Weinstein’s legal team has promised to fight the Los Angeles conviction as well.
The full court decision can be read below:
WEINSTEIN-CONVICTION-OVERTURNED-NY-APPEALS-COURTDownload
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
Add comment