The New York State Court of Appeals overturned disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein’s infamous 2020 rape conviction.
The decision to overturn the conviction was made on Thursday, April 25 with a 4-3 ruling. The New York State Court of Appeals found that a Manhattan judge had “wrongly” allowed testimony from three women whose allegations were unrelated to the Weinstein case.
The trial judge, James Burke, was also found to have “compounded that error” by ruling that Harvey Weinstein, if he decided to testify, could be questioned on the stand “about those allegations, as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed [him] from a very harmful point of view.”
The court investigated whether allowing the other women to testify would be valuable in helping jurors understand the film producer’s “intent to carry out the sexual crime.”
Weinstein’s lawyers claimed that allowing the testimony would unfairly “prejudice” the jury.
He was charged with criminal sexual act for forcibly performing oral sex on his ex Catwalk Project production assistant Miriam, Mimi, Haleyi. The incident occurred in 2006. He was also accused of raping Jessica Mann, a stylist, in 2013.
Following the 2020 rape conviction, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in a New York prison.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spoke to the New York Post after the revocation was announced. They said the District’s legal team is doing everything it can to retry the Harvey Weinstein case. “[We] “We remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyer Claims Overturning of Conviction Is a ‘Victory’ for All Criminal Defendants in New York State
After the conviction was overturned, Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthus Aidala, spoke with the New York Times about the court’s decision.
He declared the decision a “victory” not only for Weinstein, but also for all criminal defendants in New York state. “We congratulate the Court of Appeals for upholding the most basic principles that a criminal defendant must have at trial.”
Although the Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, Harvey Weinstein will remain behind bars. This stems from a separate 16-year sentence in a Los Angeles criminal case. He was convicted of raping an Italian model.
During that trial, the model shared in her testimony that Harvey Weinstein had thrown himself at her. This was after he showed up uninvited in her hotel room. The horrific event took place at an Italian film festival in 2013.
Harvey Weinstein was acquitted of sexual assault by restraint of Jane Doe 3. The jury could not agree whether he was guilty of sexual assault by restraint of Jane Doe 2. Therefore, the trial had a hung jury.
Harvey Weinstein continues to maintain his innocence despite dozens of women accusing him of assault and rape. Among the women who accused him were actresses Ashley Judd, Uma Thurman, Cara Delevingne and Rose McGowan.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn