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Cousins! Defamed movie producer Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction has officially been overturned in New York City, with a new trial ordered!
According to reports from TMZ, a 4-3 ruling was delivered today amongst a series of judges who agreed that Harvey’s constitutional rights were violated during his 2020 trial. It has been argued that prosecutors ‘wrongly’ allowed other women to testify who weren’t involved in the charges he had been facing.
Court documents issue details that the 72-year-old had been put on trial for previous instances of alleged past behavior, instead of the specific crimes he’d been charged with. As per the New York Court of Appeals, Harvey is “deserving” of a newly selected jury.
“We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,”reads a statement from the state Court of Appeals.
“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”
Judge Jenny Rivera says that the remedy is a new trial and that Harvey’s accusers could once again be called to testify if they decide to pursue another trial reports NBC News.
Despite being cleared of his charges in New York at this time, Harvey’s California conviction still stands. He was found guilty in 2022 with 3 to 7 charges in Los Angeles. His charges include rape, forcible oral copulation, and more.
Harvey was sentenced to 23 years behind bars in New York along with 16 years for his Los Angeles case.
“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” says a rep for the Manhattan D.A’s office.
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