Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers argue he was denied a fair trial in his appeal against his rape conviction in LA

Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers argued in an appeal that he did not receive a fair trial when he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles in 2022.

The filing in California on Friday came six weeks after his similar conviction and 23-year prison sentence in New York were overturned by the state’s highest court.

The California appeal argued that the trial judge improperly ignored evidence that the Italian model and actor he was convicted of raping had a sexual relationship with the director of a film festival that had brought both Weinstein and the woman to Los Angeles at the time of the alleged assault.

Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the judge “denied him his constitutional right to defense and caused a miscarriage of justice.”

The lawyers said the judge improperly allowed the jury to learn about Weinstein’s previous, now-overturned, conviction in New York and that the jury was unduly biased by women’s testimony about alleged assaults that Weinstein was not accused of.

Due to similar statements, the verdict was overturned in New York. The 72-year-old is now being held there while the prosecutor in Manhattan plans a new trial against him.

“The presentation of this excessive, cumulative and remote evidence of prior ‘sexual assault’ merely signaled to the jury that the defendant was a bad person who should be convicted of anything, regardless of whether the prosecution proved its case,” the filing states.

At his trial in California, Weinstein was charged with sexually abusing four women, but the jury found him guilty of assaulting only one woman, Evgeniya Chernyshova.

Chernyshova testified that Weinstein showed up uninvited at her hotel room during the 2013 LA Italia Film Festival.

Weinstein’s lawyers argue that Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench was wrong to prohibit the defense from presenting Facebook messages to the jury that revealed that Chernyshova and festival founder Pascal Vicedomini had a sexual relationship.

The news showed that both had committed perjury when they said they were merely friends and colleagues, the statement said.

And the fact that the woman was not even in her hotel room at the time of the alleged attack, but was with Vicedomini, would have strengthened the defense’s argument.

The arguments were similar to those made by Weinstein’s lawyers in a motion for a retrial, which Lench rejected before his sentencing.

Weinstein has since hired appellate lawyers, including Jennifer Bonjean, a Chicago-based attorney whose appeal in Bill Cosby’s sexual assault case resulted in his conviction in Pennsylvania being ultimately overturned.

Chernyshova was referred to only as Jane Doe 1 during the trial. She has since spoken out publicly.

“Weinstein’s appeal contains the same hackneyed arguments that he has previously made unsuccessfully before the court,” Chernyshova’s lawyer David Ring said in an email on Friday.

“We firmly believe that the court has properly reviewed the evidence and made all the correct decisions in its evidentiary rulings. We are confident that Weinstein’s appeal will be denied and that he will spend many years in prison.”

The defense’s appeal states that three jurors signed affidavits saying they now regretted having agreed to a unanimous guilty verdict.

The filing states: “The jury confirmed that they did not believe there was a romantic relationship between the two and stated that they would have changed their assessment of whether rape had occurred if they had had access to such evidence.”

And Weinstein’s lawyers argued that a lawsuit filed by Chernyshova shortly after the verdict showed that they should have been allowed to question whether she had financial motives in the proceedings.

Weinstein’s defense team initially filed an appeal in April 2023 and asked for several extensions before filing their brief on Friday. Prosecutors have until August 6 to file their response.

On the East Coast, Weinstein faces new charges after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office received complaints in 2020 from women who were unwilling to come forward.

On May 29, the disgraced film producer appeared before the New York State Supreme Criminal Court, where he was taken out in a wheelchair and without handcuffs.

Prosecutors told the court that new charges may be brought against him as additional allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein are “actively being investigated” and the court will be able to provide clarity by the end of June.

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“Some people who were unwilling to come forward in 2020 appear to be doing so in 2024,” Assistant District Attorney Nicole Blumberg told the court.

“We will speak with counsel about what is within the statute of limitations and we will do everything in our power to ensure that the identity of each survivor is protected.”

Judge Curtis Farber ordered him to appear in court on July 9 and remanded him in custody without bail.

Prosecutor Blumberg also accused Weinstein’s lawyers of trying to intimidate witnesses in the upcoming trial by making public statements that attack their “credibility and character.”

The Manhattan district attorney’s office filed a letter on May 30 asking the judge to order defense attorneys to stop.

“The public believes it is particularly important for Your Honor to speak out on this issue now, as survivors have reported sexual assaults by the accused in recent years.

But Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala denied the allegations and said: “Survivor, that is a very conclusive term. Not a witness, but a survivor.”

He then accused the public prosecutor of doing exactly what they accused him of.

“It means that someone has already endured some kind of pain. In 32 years, no one has ever had to remind me of my ethical obligations. However, I am in a very unique position.

“Unlike the other trial in this courthouse, where half are for a person and half are against, there are not too many fans of Mr. Weinstein.

“I have made some statements about a witness who testified in the last case. We are of the opinion that lies were told in the last trial. I have not said anything to intimidate anyone.

“I just said, here’s the truth. Witnesses who testified the first time and lied on the stand will be re-examined on the stand.”

Aidala added: “Another point I struggle with is the fact that the prosecution has its own media machine.”

“Your Honor, I am aware of my ethical obligations and my rights, as well as Mr. Weinstein’s right, to have someone who will passionately defend him.

“I cannot stand by and do nothing, act as a mouthpiece for the prosecution, take the microphone and beat him up when there is no one there to defend him.”

“He said he was innocent from day one, and he still does today. He became the figurehead of an international movement.”

Prosecutor Blumberg responded: “My objection is not to what he says in the courtroom, but to his leaving the courtroom and making public statements outside at a press conference that is specifically designed to intimidate witnesses.”

Judge Farber said, “Both sides are entitled to a fair trial. This can only be achieved if the jury is impeccable.”

“Both sides will be instructed not to pander to the press. It will be a court that serves exclusively to administer justice and not to form opinions.”

More than 80 women came forward and accused the Oscar-winning producer of sexual assault and harassment.

The allegations first emerged publicly in 2017 in a New York Times article detailing decades of alleged abuse.

Actresses named as accusers in the article included actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd.

The allegations triggered a fundamental shift in attitudes toward sexual misconduct in the workplace.