Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sex crimes in New York was overturned on Thursday by the state's Court of Appeals. The court ruled, in a 4-3 decision, that the trial judge made 'egregious' errors by allowing testimony from women whose allegations were not part of the original case, prejudicing the former Hollywood producer.
The decision stated that Weinstein was 'convicted by a jury for various sexual crimes against three named complainants' but was judged on 'irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts'. The court ordered a new trial, saying the admission of such testimony was a 'remedy for these egregious errors'.
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Madeline Singas accused the majority of 'whitewashing the facts' and participating in a 'disturbing trend of overturning juries' guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence'. She argued the ruling 'perpetuates outdated notions of sexual violence and allows predators to escape accountability'.
The Manhattan District Attorney's office said it will 'do everything in our power to retry this case'. Weinstein remains imprisoned due to a separate 2022 conviction in Los Angeles for rape, where he received a 16-year sentence. His New York conviction had resulted in a 23-year prison term.
Survivors and advocacy groups expressed disappointment. Actor Ashley Judd told the New York Times: 'That's really hard for the survivors … We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.' The Silence Breakers group called the ruling 'profoundly unjust' but noted it does not diminish survivors' testimony.
