This is why Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction was overturned in New York
Weinstein served his time in New York, most recently at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany | Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The decision by New York’s highest court to overturn the rape conviction of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has reopened a painful chapter in America’s reckoning with sexual misconduct by powerful figures, an era that began in 2017 and helped launch the #MeToo movement.
Here’s what you need to know about why Weinstein’s rape conviction was dismissed and what happens next:
Why was the conviction thrown out?
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the judge in the rape case had biased Weinstein with blatantly inappropriate rulings, including a decision to allow women to testify about allegations that Weinstein was not accused of.
In its 4-3 ruling, the court majority said it was an abuse of judicial discretion for Judge James Burke to allow testimony from these other women about “disgusting alleged evil acts and despicable behavior.”
Without a doubt, this is appalling, shameful and abhorrent conduct that could only tarnish the defendant’s character before the jury,” they said.
Weinstein’s attorney Arthur Aidala had argued that Burke also influenced the trial by allowing prosecutors to confront Weinstein about his past if he chose to testify.
He said Weinstein wanted to testify but chose not to because he would have had to answer questions about more than two dozen alleged acts of misconduct dating back four decades, including arguing with his film producer brother, flipping a table in anger, swearing at waiters and shouting at his assistants.
The 72-year-old Weinstein remains imprisoned because he was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles in 2022 and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Weinstein served his time in New York, most recently at the Mohawk Correctional Facility, about 100 miles northwest of Albany.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has indicated it plans to retry Weinstein, meaning his accusers could be forced to retell their stories on the witness stand.
We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Weinstein was convicted in New York in 2006 on charges of criminal sex acts involving forcible oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and third-degree rape for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.
Weinstein maintains his innocence and claims that any sexual activity was consensual.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: April 26, 2024 | 7:33 am IST