Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned by New York Court

On Thursday in the big apple, the 2020 rape conviction of Harvey Weinstein changed into reversed, paving the manner for a brand new trial.

The state Court of Appeals determined that Weinstein, the former film mogul, was biased by the judge in the historic #MeToo trial due to inappropriate rulings, such as permitting women to speak regarding charges that were unrelated to the case.

In a four-three ruling, the courtroom said, “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged previous sexual acts against humans aside from the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no fabric non-propensity cause.”

“The court further exacerbated that mistake by deciding that the defendant, who lacked a criminal record, could be cross-examined regarding those accusations in addition to multiple misconduct allegations that severely damaged the defendant’s reputation,” the statement read.
A fresh trial is the solution, according to Judge Jenny Rivera, who referred to the mistakes as “egregious.” If prosecutors choose to go forward with a second trial, Weinstein’s accusers might be called to testify once more.
In a dissenting decision, Judge Madeline Singas criticized the majority of omitting to acknowledge that the jury was permitted to take Weinstein’s prior assaults into account and of “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative.”

In cases of sexual abuse, Singas observed, “This Court has continued a disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts.”
Judge Anthony Cannataro called the judgment a “unfortunate step backwards” in a separate dissenting opinion.

‘Our truth isn’t overturned,’ Weinstein accuser says

Former commercial production employee Louise Godbold, who claims Weinstein assaulted her twice in 1991, told NBC News that her initial response to the decision was “a visceral one.”
“Texting with other survivors, we’re all saying ‘our hands were shaking so much,'” she added on Thursday. ”
At the 1996 Cannes Film Festival, actor Caitlin Dulany said that Weinstein had molested her in a hotel room. Dulany described her response as “deeply shocked” and “saddened.”

She told NBC News, “I think I’m still in a little shock.” “I believe a great deal of the profound sadness will surface later on.”
Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, an Italian Filipina model who accused Weinstein of making advances toward her and recorded him declaring, “I won’t do it again,” said the ruling demonstrated the courts’ and the legal system’s continued shortcomings.
Dawn Dunning, a former actor who accused Harvey Weinstein, criticized the choice.

“Even as I’m taken aback that the courtroom threw out Weinstein’s conviction on legal technicalities, i’m nonetheless proud that I testified and faced that convicted rapist,” Dunning said in an earlier declaration.

The producer Alexandra Canosa has accused Weinstein of rape. Her lawyer expressed disappointment over the New York State Court of Appeals’ ruling today. Weinstein has been found guilty by juries in two different states of being a serial sexual predator.
Six Weinstein accusers were represented by attorney Lindsay Goldbrum, who described the ruling as a “leap backward for the rule of law” that would discourage other victims of sexual assault from coming forward.
Goldbrum, whose clients included model Tarale Wulff, who testified that Weinstein raped her at his Manhattan apartment in 2005 after luring her there with rumors of a movie audition, said, “To all victims of sexual assault who are retraumatized by today’s ruling, I am so sorry.”