Danny Masterson has filed a petition to overturn his 2023 rape convictions, blaming his trial lawyer for a botched defence strategy. The 49-year-old actor, best known for his role in That ’70s Show, is serving 30 years to life for raping two women between 2001 and 2003.
In a habeas corpus petition filed on Monday, Masterson’s appellate lawyers accused trial attorney Philip Cohen of failing to call witnesses and not challenging prosecution claims about the Church of Scientology. The filing alleges that Cohen “had a longstanding aversion to presenting affirmative defense evidence” and spoke to only two of over 20 potential witnesses recommended by co-counsel.
The petition claims this “failure of due diligence” violated Masterson’s Sixth Amendment rights. Masterson’s first trial in 2022 ended in a hung jury, but he was convicted in a retrial the following year. The jury deadlocked on a third rape allegation from a former girlfriend.
The Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member, featured prominently in the retrial. Prosecutors argued Masterson used his church prominence to avoid consequences. Ex-Scientologist Claire Headley testified that the church required special permission to report crimes to authorities.
The petition states that church lawyers urged Cohen to call Scientologist Hugh Whitt to refute Headley’s claims, but Cohen declined. Instead, Cohen downplayed Masterson’s religion in his closing argument. After the verdict, the Church of Scientology called the trial testimony about its beliefs “uniformly false.”
