The NY Court of Appeals overturned movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s assault conviction case, citing errors by the trial judge.
Weinstein, 72, is serving concurrent prison sentences of 23 and 16 years for raping multiple women.
In February 2020, Weinstein was convicted of two counts of rape after more than a dozen women came forward in New York.
The women accused Weinstein of sexually harassing, assaulting, or raping them. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
On July 20, 2021, the former movie director was extradited to Los Angeles to face more charges. Weinstein was subsequently found guilty of three of seven charges on Dec. 19, 2022.
He received a sentence of 16 years in prison to run concurrently with his New York sentence.
However, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the NY rape convictions on Thursday. The judges ordered a retrial.
The news was met with shock and outrage on social media.
Prominent NY attorney Douglas H. Wigdor, who represented eight of Weinstein’s victims, said in a statement on Thursday:
“Today’s decision is a major step back in holding those accountable for acts of sexual violence. Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts where they assist juries in understanding issues concerning the intent, modus operandi or scheme of the defendant. The jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony and overturning the verdict is tragic in that it will require the victims to endure yet another trial.”
