Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned by New York's highest court, reopening the landmark case that fueled the #MeToo movement and highlighting the challenges of holding powerful men accountable. Many accusers of the former Hollywood movie mogul condemned Thursday's decision, with the actress Ashley Judd telling reporters it was 'an act of institutional betrayal.'
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg signaled it planned to retry Weinstein. In a bitterly divided 4-3 ruling, the state Court of Appeals said the trial judge made a critical mistake by letting women testify that Weinstein assaulted them, even though their accusations were not part of the charges he faced. The appeals court said the trial judge compounded the error by ruling that if Weinstein took the witness stand, prosecutors could question him on a wide range of 'loathsome' conduct, including bullying and fits of anger toward associates.
It said the ruling had an impact on Weinstein's decision not to testify in his own defense, undermining a fact-finding process that turned on the parties' credibility."The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial," Judge Jenny Rivera wrote for the majority. Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York. Jurors in Manhattan convicted him in February 2020 of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006, and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.
The conviction included charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. Weinstein was acquitted on other charges. At a press conference, Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala called the decision 'a great day for America.' Aidala said Weinstein expressed relief when they spoke about the decision, which Weinstein learned about when someone at the prison handed him a piece of paper announcing the outcome.
"He just said thank you more times than I can count," Aidala said. "He's in a horrible place, a horrible situation, but the human spirit is strong and he's done the best he can." Weinstein is not expected to be freed immediately, as he faces a separate 16-year prison term imposed last year in California after he was convicted for the 2013 rape of an actress at a Los Angeles hotel. That conviction still stands.
