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.
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
‘DISCRIMINATION’: The US Office of Personnel Management ordered that public DEI-focused Web pages be taken down, while training and contracts were canceled US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting and directed that all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff be put on paid leave and eventually be laid off. The moves follow an executive order Trump signed on his first day ordering a sweeping dismantling of the federal government’s diversity and inclusion programs. Trump has called the programs “discrimination” and called to restore “merit-based” hiring. The executive order on affirmative action revokes an order issued by former US president Lyndon Johnson, and curtails DEI programs by federal contractors and grant recipients. It is using one of the
RSS