Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers called it “a great day for America” after the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s rape conviction was overturned on Thursday.
Weinstein, 72, was found guilty of raping and assaulting two women in 2020 and is serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison.
The New York Court of Appeals overturned the conviction by a majority of 4–3, saying that the original trial judge had made “serious errors” by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations were unrelated to the existing charges.
During a news conference outside the Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala praised the verdict and said his client was “tried on his character, not on the evidence.”
“Today’s legal decision is a great day for America because it gives us confidence that there is a justice system, that a judge… will say: ‘I don’t care who the defendant is, if he’s a former president. The United States, or the most famous Hollywood producer of our generation. The law applies to everyone,” Mr. Aidala said.
Mr. Aidala said Weinstein learned that his sentence was overturned after someone inside the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, handed him a copy of the two-sentence article that broke the news.
The lawyer said the court’s decision was unexpected and that Weinstein was “very gracious and grateful”.
Weinstein’s victims reacted with anger to the news. Ashley Judd, the first actor to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment, speaks out the new York Times The decision is “unfair to the survivors.”
“Being a woman in America, living with man’s authority over our bodies, that’s what it’s like,” she later said at a press conference.
Lindsay Goldbrough, who represented six women who came forward against Weinstein, called the decision “a backwards leap for the rule of law” and said it could deter future sexual assault victims from coming forward. “To all the victims of sexual assault who are shocked by today’s decision, I am deeply sorry,” he said. nbc news,
Ms. Goldbrough’s clients include Ms. Wolf, who testified that the former Hollywood producer raped her in 2005.
Weinstein is now entitled to a new trial in New York, which his legal team has confirmed it will pursue.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has said it plans to re-prosecute Weinstein, meaning his accusers could be forced to retell their stories on the witness stand. Is.
A spokesman for Mr. Bragg’s office said, “We will do everything in our power to re-hear this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”Independent.
The appeals court’s decision does not mean Weinstein will be freed. He was also convicted of rape in California two years ago and given a 16-year sentence.
However he will not be immediately extradited to California. His spokesman Judah Engelmayer said Weinstein would likely be moved to a different facility in New York City. Independent on Thursday.
There, he will wait to hear whether Mr. Bragg intends to retry the case. If the DA decides not to proceed further, Weinstein will be extradited to California.
At his 2020 trial, Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haley – also known as Mimi Haley – in 2006 and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
Several women, who were not part of the official charges, testified against him. Witnesses also included actress and model Taralee Wolf, who said Weinstein raped her in 2005; actress and producer Dawn Dunning, who said he put his hand up her skirt in 2004; and Lauren Young, who said that Weinstein masturbated in front of her and groped her in 2013.
More than 100 women in Hollywood came forward against the disgraced producer, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Uma Thurman.
The revelations of the Weinstein rape and assault, which came to light in a series of newspaper and magazine articles in late 2017, launched the #MeToo movement, which highlighted the horrors of decades of mistreatment of women in society through film and media. Did. From industries to restaurants, technology and the legal profession.
Weinstein’s defense lawyers appealed his 2020 New York conviction in February, arguing that “he was judged, not on the basis of the conduct for which he was convicted, but irrelevant, On bias and untested allegations of prior bad acts”.
While the appeals court supported this argument, three dissenting judges issued a scathing opinion. Judge Madeline Singas wrote that the decision “continued a disturbing trend of overturning jury guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence.”
They wrote, “The fundamental misconceptions of sexual violence perpetrated by men they know have significant power over the women they victimize are on full display in the majority opinion.”
The decision comes after former TV star Bill Cosby was convicted and acquitted of sexual assault in Pennsylvania in 2021. Cosby’s trial was another notable case that stemmed from women coming forward during the #MeToo movement.
