Bloomberg — Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is appealing his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction in New York’s highest court, arguing that the trial judge wrongfully allowed prosecutors to present testimony about unindicted past incidents of alleged sexual misconduct in the indictment.
In a filing Tuesday in the New York Court of Appeals, Weinstein also argued that he was prevented from testifying in his defense because prosecutors would later present evidence of 28 alleged incidents. previous reports and alleged “brutal behavior” dating back some 30 years.
“This ruling left Weinstein no choice but to remain silent against his will, as speaking up would have been the legal equivalent of suicide,” Weinstein’s attorneys said in their appeal Tuesday.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a Manhattan state jury found him guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2020. He was also found guilty of rape and sexual assault in a separate trial in Los Angeles last month and is expected to be sentenced in that case on Feb. 23.
Weinstein’s New York attorneys Arthur Aidala and Barry Kamins argued in a 79-page filing that New York State Supreme Court Justice James Burke, who presided over the trial, wrongfully allowed the jury to hear testimony on alleged uncharged crimes, violating their rights to a fair trial.
“The court has repeatedly abandoned its duty to safeguard Weinstein’s constitutional guarantees and procedural rights, leaving him powerless to defend himself against an unchecked prosecutor whose strategy was to flood the jury with damaging evidence in a bad mood to divert attention from the fallibilities in the whistleblower stories,” Weinstein’s lawyers said.
Burke allowed the jury to hear accusers, including “The Sopranos” actress Annabella Sciorra, who testified that Weinstein raped her in the early 1990s. Prosecutors also called Sciorra’s friend, actress Rosie Perez, who confirmed her story.
Prosecutors also called three other women to prove Weinstein used “forced restraint” on two victims. Weinstein claimed during the trial that the sexual encounters were consensual and that this testimony unfairly prejudiced him.
In June, a Manhattan appeals court upheld his conviction, rejecting his claims that he had been denied a fair trial because of the judge’s mistakes, including being able to testify about alleged unindicted crimes.
Weinstein’s downfall, following reports in The New York Times and The New Yorker in 2017 that he had taken advantage of dozens of women, helped spark the #MeToo movement. This has led to a global showdown on sexual harassment, assault and allegations against numerous leaders in entertainment, media and other industries.
Weinstein’s legal team argued Tuesday that the fallout from #MeToo also deprived him of a fair trial, saying “an unrelenting deluge of commercials, vocal special interest groups, and a morally outraged public created a carnival atmosphere before and then”. process that deprived him of the serenity and judicial calm to which he was entitled.
The case is People of New York State v. Weinstein, APL 2022-00112-010823 (New York Court of Appeals)
