A New York appeals court reversed on Thursday (4/25) one of the convictions of Harvey Weinstein for rape and sexual assault, calling for a new trial for the former Hollywood producer, a decision that sparked outrage at the MeToo movement.
Weinstein’s 2020 sentencing in New York to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault was a victory for this movement.
In 2023, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles for rape and sexual assault, in a separate case. As a result, the 72-year-old Weinstein will remain in prison, despite the overturning of the court’s decision in New York.
The movement MeToo against violence against women began in 2017 after the revelations about the actions of Weinstein, whose influence in Hollywood was enormous.
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According to the appeals court, as the court erred when it allowed to hear the testimonies of women other than the plaintiffs about the violence they had suffered from the defendant. The testimony presented “a particularly bad image” of Weinstein, the appeals court said, ruling that the only way to correct these “scandalous errors is a new trial.”
Four judges ruled in favor of overturning the conviction and three against.
“We knew that Harvey Weinstein did not have a fair trial,” said Arthur Aidala, one of Weinstein’s lawyers, adding that “there are people who are unpopular, but we have to apply the law fairly to them as well.” “There was so much pressure because Harvey was the face of this movement,” he said.
“The justice system has never benefited the survivors”
“The court continues to resist the victories fought for by survivors of sexual violence,” complained Madeleine Singas, one of the appeals court judges who opposed Weinstein’s sentence being overturned. According to her, women “bearing the trauma of sexual violence” were “forgotten”.
The actress Alyssa Milano significantly contributed to the promotion of the MeToo movement, a hashtag created 11 years ago, before the Weinstein scandal broke, by the African-American activist Tarana Burke.
“The justice system has never benefited survivors in this country,” Burke told reporters. “Because after the brave women in this case broke their silence, millions and millions more found the strength to speak out,” she recalled.
A group of Weinstein’s victims denounced the appeals court’s decision, saying it “not only discourages” women, but is also “deeply unfair.”
“But this decision in no way affects the reality we lived” and “we will continue to fight,” the group said in a statement. “Silence Breakers”which features women who have denounced Weinstein’s actions.
Many actresses, who had accused the producer, also expressed their outrage. For her Rosanna Arquette“it is unfortunate that the court overturned his conviction.” “And as a survivor I am very disappointed”Arquette pointed out.
“It’s unfair to the survivors. We live our own truth. We know what happened”she protested Ashley Judd, the first actress to denounce Weinstein.
THE Mira Sorvino she declared “shocked!” “It is a serial predator with rich action that raped/harmed more than 200 women! I am disgusted by the justice system that leans towards the predators and not the victims,” the actress wrote in X.
Step back the decision
The decision is “a huge step backwards,” said attorney Douglas Wigdor, who represented eight witnesses at Weinstein’s New York trial.
“The decision is wrong,” he complained, noting that “the evidence was important to show the defendant’s motives and purpose.”
However, the New York appeals court’s decision is unlikely to have “any impact on the case” in Los Angeles, criminal law professor Aya Gruber pointed out, since the procedural rules that led to the overturning of the New York decision are ” very different’ from those in California.
This is one more pushback on MeToo after Bill Cosby was released in 2021 after his sexual assault conviction was overturned on procedural grounds.
Since 2017, dozens of women — including Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow — have accused Weinstein of harassment, sexual assault or rape. But many of these cases are statute-barred as the time limit for filing charges has passed.
