Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 sex crimes conviction overturned by New York court

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Originally published by The 19th

By Jennifer Gerson, The 19th

Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction on felony sex crime charges was overturned Thursday by the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.

The stunning 4-3 decision said that “the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.” Because of this and other errors made by the trial judge, the appellate court said, Weinstein had not in fact received a fair trial — which necessitated the overturn of the verdict against him.

The choice of prosecutors to use testimony by witnesses who said they had experienced sexual misconduct at the hands of Weinstein was designed to establish a pattern of behavior by Weinstein. The appellate court, however, said in its decision that because the testimony detailed crimes committed by the defendant that he was not on trial for, it could not be included.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg must now decide whether he wishes to seek a retrial. Bragg is currently in the middle of his trial against former President Donald Trump, who is accused of falsifying business records to hide “hush money” payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 run for president.

Weinstein has been serving a 23-year sentence in a federal prison in upstate New York tied to two guilty verdicts tied to sexual misconduct. In 2022, he was also sentenced to 16 years in prison by a California judge for previously raping a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel room. The two plaintiffs to receive guilty verdicts against Weinstein were just two of hundreds of women who came forward with allegations against the storied Hollywood producer, sparking the virality of the #MeToo movement in 2017.

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