Harvey Weinstein’s New York sexual assault conviction was overturned by the state’s highest court, which found that the judge in the disgraced Hollywood movie mogul’s 2020 trial had made fundamental errors.
In a 4-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals on Thursday ordered a new trial, saying the judge had wrongly permitted women who were not part of the charges against Weinstein to testify as prosecution witnesses.
The rare reversal marks a stunning turnabout in the highest-profile conviction of the #MeToo era, and a blow to prosecutors’ use of testimony from witnesses who describe conduct that is not part of the underlying case.
Photo: Reuters
However, it is unclear whether Weinstein, who is serving a 23-year sentence in Rome, New York, would be released. He was sentenced to 16 years in California on similar charges.
His lawyer Barry Kamins in an interview said that Weinstein, 72, would be brought before a judge in Manhattan and would request to be released on bail pending a new trial.
His California lawyers would likely seek bail pending appeal of his conviction in that state.
“We are gratified that the court agreed that Mr Weinstein was denied his fundamental right to a fair trial,” Kamins said.
US Judge Jenny Rivera, who wrote the majority opinion for the New York appeals court, found that the testimony of the women who were not part of the charges unfairly bolstered the allegations of the main accusers in the case, diminished Weinstein’s credibility and might have prevented him from testifying on his own behalf.
“The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial,” she wrote.
Judge Madeline Singas wrote in a dissent that the majority opinion “ignores the nuances of how sexual violence is perpetrated and perceived, and demonstrates the majority’s utter lack of understanding of the dynamics of sexual assault.”
“New York’s women deserve better,” the judge wrote.
It is up to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to decide how to proceed with the case.
“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” a spokesperson for Bragg said.
Weinstein’s conviction for rape and sexual assault was affirmed in 2022 by a mid-level state appeals court in a unanimous decision, but New York’s highest court later that year agreed to review the case.
Aidala and Kamins argued that in the trial, New York State Supreme Court Justice James Burke had unfairly allowed the jury to hear testimony about alleged uncharged crimes, violating their client’s right to a fair trial.
They contended that the judge “repeatedly abandoned its duty to safeguard Weinstein’s constitutional guarantees and procedural rights,” leaving him “powerless to defend against an unchecked prosecutor.”
That swamped the jury with prejudicial bad-character evidence to distract from the weaknesses in the complainants’ testimony, Weinstein’s lawyers said.
Prosecutors in California announced their indictment of Weinstein on rape and other charges on the first day of his New York trial. After he was convicted and sentenced in 2020, he was sent to Los Angeles to face prosecution there. Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape. He was acquitted on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
The appeals court decision was met with consternation by advocates for sexual assault victims.
“Their only goal was to give a voice to dozens of other women who suffered so much,” said Lindsay Goldbrum.
Goldbrum has represented six Weinstein accusers, including Tarale Wulff, who testified in his New York trial. “Today’s ruling unfortunately casts a dark shadow on their bravery and will undoubtedly deter future sexual assault victims from coming forward,” Goldbrum said.
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