Outrage as Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape conviction overturned due to judge’s ‘crucial error’

Harvey Weinstein’s accusers have reacted with anger after the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s rape conviction was overturned in a New York appeals court.

Ashley Judd, the first actor to make sexual harassment allegations against the 72-year-old, said the decision was “unfair to the survivors.”

“This is what it is like to be a woman in America and live with male entitlement to our bodies,” she said at a press conference after the shock verdict was announced.

Weinstein was convicted of raping and assaulting two women in 2020 and is currently serving 23 years in a prison in upstate New York.

The New York court overturned the conviction by a 4-3 majority, saying the original judge made “egregious errors” by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations had nothing to do with the charges at hand.

Lindsay Goldbrum, who represented six women who came forward against Weinstein, called the decision a “setback for the rule of law” and said it could deter future victims of sexual assault from coming forward. “I am so sorry to all sexual assault victims who will be re-traumatized by today’s verdict,” she said NBC News.

Ms. Goldbrum’s clients include Tarale Wulff, who testified that the former Hollywood producer raped her in 2005.

Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, praised the decision, saying during a news conference outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday that his client was tried “based on his character and not the evidence.”

“Today’s court decision is a great day for America because it gives us the belief that there is a justice system that a judge… will say, ‘I don’t care who the defendant is if it’s a former president.’ is.’ the United States or the most famous Hollywood producer of our generation. “The law applies to everyone,” Mr. Aidala said.

Weinstein learned his conviction was overturned after someone at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, gave him a copy of a two-sentence article that spread the news, Mr. Aidala said.

The lawyer said the court’s decision was unexpected and that Weinstein was “very gracious and grateful.”

Weinstein is now entitled to a new trial in New York, whose legal team has confirmed it will proceed.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office has said it will retry Weinstein, meaning his accusers could be forced to tell their stories again on the witness stand.

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case and remain true to our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” a spokesman for Mr. Bragg’s office said The Independent.

The appeals court decision does not mean Weinstein will be released. He was also convicted of rape in California two years ago and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

However, he will not be extradited to California immediately. Weinstein will be moved to another facility, likely in New York City, said his spokeswoman Juda Engelmayer The Independent on Thursday.

There he will wait to hear whether Mr Bragg intends to retry the case. If prosecutors decide not to proceed, Weinstein will be extradited to California.

At his 2020 trial, Weinstein was convicted of sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haley, previously Haleyi, in 2006 and raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

Several women who were not the subject of official charges testified against him. Witnesses included actress and model Tarale Wulff, who said Weinstein raped her in 2005; actress and producer Dawn Dunning, who said he put his hand up her skirt in 2004; and Lauren Young, who said Weinstein masturbated in front of her and groped her in 2013.

More than 100 women in Hollywood protested against the disgraced producer, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Uma Thurman.

Weinstein was once one of Hollywood’s most well-connected and influential producers, making a number of Oscar-winning films. But behind the glamorous facade it was a different story. More than 80 women have accused him of abuse ranging from groping to rape. Although his conviction was overturned in New York, he remains convicted of rape in California.

The Weinstein revelations sparked the #MeToo movement in 2017, in which women from all parts of society came forward to speak out about their experiences of sexual harassment and assault.

Weinstein’s defense attorneys had appealed his 2020 conviction in New York in February, arguing “he was judged not on the conduct for which he was charged, but on irrelevant, prejudicial and untested allegations of prior bad acts.”

While the appeals court agreed with this argument, the three dissenting justices issued a strong opinion. Judge Madeline Singas wrote that the decision “continues the troubling trend of overturning jury guilty verdicts in sexual violence cases.”

“Fundamental misunderstandings about sexual violence perpetrated by men who are known to have great power over the women they victimize are clearly reflected in the majority opinion,” she wrote.

This decision comes after former TV star Bill Cosby’s 2021 sexual harassment conviction in Pennsylvania was overturned and he was released. Cosby’s trial was another notable case stemming from women who came forward during the #MeToo movement.