The New York state Court of Appeals has overturned the 2020 rape conviction of former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
The ruling, which means a new trial may be forthcoming, was made public on Thursday, according to People.
The appeals court found the judge in the criminal matter prejudiced Weinstein by improperly ruling on some matters, such as letting “women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case,” per NBC News.
“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 because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the court said. The decision was 4-3 decision.
“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light,” it said.
NBC News reported that a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it is committed to retry the case.
We “will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” the spokesperson said.
In February 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, People reported.
According to a PBS report, Weinstein was charged after being accused of forcibly performing oral sex on a woman in 2006. He was also accused of raping a woman in 2013.
Douglas H. Wigdor, who represented eight of Weinstein accusers, said the 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,” he said in a statement.
He added it was “tragic in that it will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Madeline Singas said the majority was “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative.”
“This Court has continued a disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence,” Singas said.
Weinstein, now 72, has been incarcerated in a New York prison since his conviction, per NBC.
The case allowed the #MeToo Movement to gain traction after reports of Weinstein’s sexual abuse came to light in reports from The New York Times and The New Yorker, NBC reported.
Although the New York case was overturned, Weinstein will remain incarcerated due to a 2022 rape conviction in California. Those charges stem from a 2013 assault, People reported.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in that case, where he was also acquitted of sexual battery.
Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for Weinstein, said Weinstein’s team is “thrilled with the court’s decision.”
“We obviously have a long road ahead of us in California,” Engelmayer said to NBC News.
Many celebrities have spoken out against Weinstein, including Salma Hayek, Lupita Nyong’o and Ryan Gosling, People reported.
