Harvey Weinstein has had his convictions for rape and sexual assault in New York overturned.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the disgraced film producer did not receive a fair trial when he was convicted in 2020.
It is unclear whether the ruling will free him from prison, as he still has another conviction in Los Angeles for another rape.
Weinstein is serving 23 years in a New York prison for the two sexual attacks against aspiring actress Jessica Mann and production assistant Mimi Haleyi. He was given an additional 16 years following his sentencing in Los Angeles in 2022.
His team in California is appealing the decision and, if it is overturned, he could be free until the new trial.
Weinstein became the face of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women reported sexual abuse.
Harvey Weinstein has had his conviction for serious sexual crimes in New York overturned
Weinstein became the face of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women, including Jessica Mann (pictured in 2020), reported sexual abuse.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the disgraced film producer did not receive a fair trial. Pictured: Accuser Mimi Haleyi arriving at her sentencing in New York in 2020
It is unclear whether the ruling will free him from prison, as he still has another conviction in Los Angeles for another rape. Pictured: Weinstein in February 2020 arriving for trial at Manhattan Criminal Court.
In a 4-3 decision, the New York court found that the trial judge had erred by allowing women who were not part of the case to testify.
“We conclude that the trial court wrongly admitted testimony of alleged prior uncharged sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,” the decision said.
“It is an abuse of judicial discretion to allow unproven allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on his credibility in relation to the criminal charges brought against him.”
A new trial has been ordered in which the accusers could take the stand again.
Weinstein, 72, was jailed in New York for the two attacks in 2006 and 2013.
He was convicted of third-degree rape against Mann and criminal sexual act against Haleyi, but acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
The court heard that Mann was attacked by Weinstein in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
Haleyi testified that he forcibly performed oral sex on her in her apartment while she was on her period in 2006.
Soprano actress Annabella Sciorra (right), seen with her friend Rosie Perez, was among six women who took the stand at the New York trial.
Former ‘Project Runway’ production assistant Mimi Haleyi, the woman Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting in 2006, recounted during her testimony how the movie mogul forcibly performed oral sex on her while she was on her period in his apartment from SoHo.
In total, six women took the stand to give harrowing accounts of alleged abuse, including model Tarale Wulff, photographed at the trial in 2020.
The predatory sexual assault charge, which was the most serious, incorporated Sopranos actress Anabella Sciorra’s allegation that she was raped by Weinstein in his Manhattan apartment in the mid-1990s.
Sciorra’s allegation was too old to stand alone because of the statute of limitations, but jurors had to consider it as a basis for charges alleging Weinstein is a sexual predator.
In total, six women took the stand to give harrowing accounts of alleged abuse.
Costume designer Dawn Dunning, model Tarale Wulff and actress Lauren Marie Young were among those who testified that they were lured into meeting Weinstein for professional reasons and then groped or raped.
Weinstein was acquitted in Los Angeles of charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
Weinstein’s lawyers argued that Judge James Burke’s rulings in favor of the prosecution turned the trial into “1-800-GET-HARVEY.”
Wigdor Law, who represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers, including two connected to the New York trial, criticized the appeals court ruling.
“Today’s decision is an important step backwards in holding accountable those responsible for acts of sexual violence,” the statement said.
Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who was the first accuser to testify, told jurors that the burly Weinstein broke into her Manhattan apartment one winter night in 1993 or 1994 and violently raped her. She is pictured left to right in court in January 1994.
The Sopranos actress (above) confronted Weinstein from the witness stand during her testimony, saying he overpowered and raped her and made other crude advances that included sending her X-rated chocolates and showing up uninvited in his underwear.
Harvey Weinstein accuser Lauren Marie Young leaves Manhattan Criminal Court in 2020
‘Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts and help juries understand issues relating to the defendant’s modus operandi or plan.
“The jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony and overturning the verdict is tragic because it will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”
The ruling was handed down by Judge Jenny Rivera, with concurrence from Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and Judges Betsy Barros and Jessica Clarke.
Judges Madeline Singas, Michael Garcia and Anthony Cannataro dissented, while judges Shirley Troutman and Caitlin Halligan did not participate.
The overturning of his conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the past two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision throwing out his sexual assault conviction. Bill Cosby.
Weinstein’s conviction stood for more than four years, heralded by activists and advocates as a historic achievement but just as quickly scrutinized by his lawyers and, later, by the Court of Appeals when it heard arguments on the matter in February. .
New York State Chief Appeals Judge Janet DiFiore ruled that Weinstein’s appeal could proceed in 2022.
At the time, his lawyer Arthur Aidala argued that women who were not part of the criminal allegations should not have been allowed to take the stand and testify about alleged sexual abuse by his client.
He also alleged that a juror failed to disclose that he had previously written a book about sexual predators, which he said should have disqualified them from serving.
Weinstein denied the charges against him and insisted that his relationships with the women were consensual.
More than 80 women accused the Oscar-winning producer of sexual assault and harassment.
More to continue…