The New York Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction from 2020 on Thursday, April 25. The decision means there could be a new trial and women who identified as victims of Weinstein could have to testify all over again.
Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence convicted of rape and criminal sexual acts.
The trial gained notoriety after The New York Times released a investigation into the movie producer that resulted in a list of more than 100 victims and detailed sexual abuse allegations that sparked the #MeToo movement.
The jury was convinced that Weinstein was guilty. However, the appeals court ruled 4-3 that jurors could have been wrongfully influenced by testimony against Weinstein from women who were not part of the case.
The court also said the judge had allowed for allegations unrelated to the charges in cross examination. The appeals court ruled Weinstein was seen in a “highly prejudicial light.”
“This court has continued a disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence,” Judge Madeline Singas said in one of the court’s dissenting opinions.
A spokesperson for Weinstein said they were “happily surprised” and “thrilled with the court’s decision.”
Even though Weinstein’s conviction was been overturned, the 72-year-old is not a free man. He was also convicted in California for sex offenses in 2022 where he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Thursday’s decision means he’ll be transferred to the custody of prison authorities in California while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg weighs whether to try the case again in a New York courtroom.
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