NEW YORK, NY – In a significant development, a New York appeals court has reversed the 2020 rape conviction of Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood mogul. The court has called for a new trial in a decision that has sent shockwaves through the #MeToo movement.
In a closely contested 4-3 verdict, the court ruled that the trial judge erred by allowing the testimony of women who alleged Weinstein had assaulted them, despite their accusations not being directly related to the charges against him.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison in February 2020 after being found guilty of forcing oral sex on Mimi Haley, a TV and film production assistant, in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013. He was cleared of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault related to actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the 1990s. Weinstein has consistently denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.
Donna Rotunno, Weinstein’s defense attorney, hailed the decision as a victory for due process. “Justice was served. I believe this decision is larger than Harvey Weinstein,” she said. “Courts cannot operate on emotion and lack of due process. This decision restores faith in the foundation of our system.”
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to accuse Weinstein, expressed her disappointment at the decision. “This today is an act of institutional betrayal,” she said. “And our institutions betray survivors of male sexual violence. I stand shoulder to shoulder with women who have bloody knees because male sexual violence may knock us down, but we get right back up and together we are in the struggle for freedom from male entitlement to our bodies.”
Despite the reversal of his conviction in New York, Weinstein remains in prison. After his sentencing in New York, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to face sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013. In December 2022, he was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation, and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. Weinstein’s legal team has vowed to appeal that conviction as well.