A New York appeals court on Thursday threw out Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction and ordered a new trial in a stunning reversal of the landmark #MeToo case.
In a 4-3 decision, the Court of Appeals ruled that Weinstein's trial judge should not allow women who say he assaulted them, even though their accusations were not specifically related to the accusations against entertainment mogul Weinstein. The court also found that the prosecutor was authorized to call the prosecutor to testify.
Weinstein was found guilty in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on television and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault after he was accused of raping actor Annabella Sciorra in the 1990s. He denied ever having non-consensual sex.
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An appeals court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction. (Scott Hines)
Weinstein's attorney, Donna Rotunno, told Fox News in a statement: “Justice has been served. I believe this sentence is more significant than Harvey Weinstein.” “Courts cannot operate based on emotion or lack of due process. The world is out of balance, and nothing works if the judicial system does not work. This decision undermines confidence in the foundations of our system. I will recover.”
Ashley Judd, the first actress to come forward with allegations against Weinstein, reacted to the appeals court's decision at a press conference Thursday.
“I went on record and said, [my] “Because when survivors tell their stories, they are demonstrating powerful leadership that inspires others to join them in common action to drive change,” she told reporters. Ta.
“This today is a betrayal of the organization,” Judd explained. “And our institutions are failing survivors of male sexual violence. And we need to work within and outside of our institutions to start having so-called institutional courage. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with women with blood on their knees because male sexual violence may bring us down.” But we will soon stand up and be free from men's rights to their bodies. We continue to fight together for this. ”
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Ashley Judd called the overturning of Weinstein's conviction “an act of systematic betrayal.” (Photo by Fraser Harrison/Getty Images)
Mr. Weinstein, a former film producer, was known for his influential career in Hollywood before his fall from grace became widely publicized. He was a co-founder of Miramax and later Weinstein's Company, both of which produced many commercially successful films and earned Academy Award honors.
Weinstein was one of the first and biggest figures of the #MeToo movement after he was accused of sexual assault and rape by more than 80 women.
Even if the New York Court of Appeals overturns Mr. Weinstein's conviction, it does not mean he will be released from prison.
After Weinstein was sentenced in New York in 2020, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to fight charges of sexual assault by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
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Harvey Weinstein appeals his 2020 rape conviction in New York. The entertainment mogul was sentenced to 23 years in prison. (Spencer Pratt)
In December 2022, Mr. Weinstein was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation, and another count of sexual misconduct involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. She was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. Weinstein's lawyers have vowed to appeal the conviction. good.
Weinstein was also indicted in London on two criminal charges in 1996.
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Harvey Weinstein was originally convicted of third-degree rape in connection with the alleged assault of actress Jessica Mann. (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
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In January 2023, Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala filed for a new trial, claiming that Weinstein was denied a “fair trial” in New York due to “legally insufficient charges.”
Weinstein's attorney, Judah Engelmayer, told Fox News Digital at the time: “Mr. Harvey is innocent and should never have been convicted or even tried on these charges.” Told. “The trial began from the moment, before the judge entered the courtroom or the day's hearing began, former Judge Burke reprimanded Harvey over cell phone use and asked if he would spend the rest of his life in prison. It lacked objectivity.
“As a result, Mr. Burke was removed from the courtroom, and this case should have been no different. The jury learned from the lies told to the private attorney representing the unrelated complainant on behalf of the prosecution. As we were often gagged, the jury was swerved “in directions we never would have gone if we had been honest.'' ”
Harvey Weinstein appears from prison on April 30, 2021, during a virtual hearing on possible extradition to California to face additional sexual assault charges. (Reuters)
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Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright contributed to this report.