Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape and sexual assault convictions have been dramatically overturned after an appeals court ruled the judge made a ‘crucial’ error in his handling of the case.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled on Thursday that the disgraced movie producer did not receive a fair trial when he was convicted in 2020.
It is unclear if the bombshell ruling made by New York’s highest court will free him from prison, as he still has another conviction in Los Angeles for a separate rape.
Weinstein, 72, has been serving 23 years in a New York jail for the two sex attacks against aspiring actress Jessica Mann and production assistant Mimi Haley. He was handed a further 16 years following his conviction in LA in 2022.
His team in California is appealing the decision and should that be overturned, he could walk free until the new trial.
Weinstein became the face of the #MeToo movement after dozens of women came forward alleging sexual abuse. The ruling on Thursday was described as ‘a major step back’ by his accusers.
Harvey Weinstein has had his New York rape and sexual assault convictions overturned by judges who said he did not receive a fair trial
Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of raping Jessica Mann (pictured at court in 2020) at her home in Manhattan in 2013
He was also convicted of sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haley, seen walking into his sentencing in New York in 2020
Weinstein was jailed for 23 years over the New York attacks, but this latest court ruling has now overturned the convictions. Pictured: Weinstein in February 2020 arriving for trial at Manhattan Criminal Court
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to publicly accuse Weinstein, shared her disappointment with the ruling.
‘That’s really hard for the survivors … We still live in our truth. And we know what happened,’ she told the New York Times.
But Weinstein’s lawyer hailed the decision as, ‘not just a victory for Mr Weinstein, but for every criminal defendant in the state of New York’.
‘We compliment the court of appeals for upholding the most basic principles that a criminal defendant should have in a trial,’ he told the outlet.
In a 4-3 decision, the New York court determined that the original trial judge had made an error in allowing women to testify who were not part of the case.
‘We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,’ the decision read.
‘It is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.’
A new trial has been ordered which could see accusers take to the stand once again.
Weinstein, 72, was jailed in New York for the two attacks in 2006 and 2013.
Weinstein, pictured with ex-wife Georgina Chapman in happier times, was a titan of the movie industry before allegations of sexual abuse made him the face of the #MeToo movement
He has denied the charges against him and claimed that all encounters with his accusers were consensual. Pictured: Weinstein leaving a hearing in his sexual assault case in New York in 2019
Soprano’s actress Annabella Sciorra (right) seen with friend Rosie Perez was among six women to take to the stand in the New York trial. It is unclear exactly what the ruling will mean for Weinstein who has a separate 16 year sentence for another rape in Los Angeles
Former ‘Project Runway’ production assistant Haley, the woman Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting in 2006, recounted during her testimony how the film mogul forcibly performed oral sex on her while she had her period at his SoHo apartment
In total, six women took to the stand in the New York trial to give harrowing accounts of alleged abuse including model Tarale Wulff, pictured at the trial in 2020. The ruling states it was a mistake to allow women to testify who did not form part of the criminal complaint
He was convicted of third degree rape against Mann and criminal sexual act against Haley, but acquitted of first degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault.
The court heard Mann was attacked by Weinstein in a Manhattan hotel room in 2013.
Haley testified that he forcibly performed oral sex on her in his apartment while she had her period in 2006.
The predatory sexual assault charge, which was the most serious, incorporated Sopranos actress Anabella Sciorra’s allegation that she was raped by Weinstein in her Manhattan apartment in the mid-1990s.
Sciorra’s allegation was too old to be charged on its own 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 to 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 they were enticed into meeting Weinstein for professional reasons and then groped or raped.
Weinstein was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
Sopranos actress Annabella Sciorra, who was the first accuser to testify in New York, told the jury that the burly Weinstein barged into her Manhattan apartment one winter night in 1993 or 1994 and violently raped her. She is pictured left in court and right in January 1994
The Sopranos actress (above) confronted Weinstein from the witness standing during her testimony, saying that he overpowered and raped her and made other crude overtures 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
Weinstein’s lawyers argued Judge James Burke’s rulings in favor of the prosecution turned the trial into ‘1-800-GET-HARVEY.’
Wigdor Law, which represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers including two connected to the New York trial, blasted the appeal court’s ruling.
‘Today’s decision is a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence.
‘Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts where they assist juries in understanding issues concerning the intent, modus operandi or scheme of the defendant.
‘The jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony and overturning the verdict is tragic in that it will require the victims to endure yet another trial.’
The ruling was handed down by Judge Jenny Rivera, with Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson and Judges Betsy Barros and Christine Clark concurring.
Judges Madeline Singas, Michael Garcia and Anthony Cannataro dissented, while Judges Shirley Troutman and Caitlin Halligan took no part.
In a scathing dissent, Judge Singas accused the majority judges of ‘whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative’.
‘The majority’s determination perpetuates outdated notions of sexual violence and allows predators to escape accountability,’ Singas said.
Costume designer Dawn Dunning, seen in this court sketch, was among the women who took to the stand to allege sexual assault despite her claims not forming part of the criminal complaint
Dunning claimed that Weinstein sexually harassed her and tried to pressure her into having a three-way with him
The 4-3 decision was handed down by New York Court of Appeals judge Jenny Rivera (pictured)
Weinstein was separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and given 16 years in jail. Pictured: The disgraced Miramax boss at his trial in February 2020
The allegations against Weinstein first emerged in a 2017 New York Times article which named actress Rose McGowan, pictured on the first day of his New York trial in 2020
The accusations by McGowan and actress Ashley Judd (pictured at a White House event in 2024) were the start of Weinstein’s undoing
Weinstein’s team is appealing his 2022 Los Angeles rape conviction for which he was sentenced to 16 years
The reversal of his conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the last two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision to throw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.
Weinstein’s conviction stood for more than four years, heralded by activists and advocates as a milestone achievement, but dissected just as quickly by his lawyers and, later, the Court of Appeals when it heard arguments on the matter in February.
New York State of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore ruled that Weinstein’s appeal could proceed in 2022.
At the time, his lawyer Arthur Aidala argued that women who did not form part of the criminal allegations should not have been allowed to take the stand and testify about alleged sex abuse by his client.
He also alleged that one juror did not disclose they’d previously written a book on sexual predators, which he said should have disqualified them from serving.
Weinstein denied the charges against him and insisted that his relations with the women were consensual.
More than 80 women came forward to accuse the Oscar-winning producer of sexual assault and harassment.
The allegations first surfaced publicly in a New York Times story in 2017 detailing decades of alleged abuse.
Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among those who were named in the piece as accusers.
More to follow…
