On April 25, 2024, charges against Harvey Weinstein were overturned by the New York Court of Appeals. He was charged with rape in New York in May of 2018. Two years later, in February 2020, he was found guilty on 5 accounts. Many people aren’t aware of the details of this case, or why his conviction was overturned in New York; some people aren’t aware of who he is.
Weinstein is an American film producer. He co-founded the production company Miramax and later cofounded The Weinstein Company with his brother. His downfall came in 2017 when he received sexual harassment allegations from actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.
Weinstein apologized: “I appreciate the way I’ve behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.”
Later in the message he stated: “I plan to take a leave of absence from my company and to deal with this issue head-on.”
After he issued his statement, his company said he was officially fired from the company. Just days after this, The New Yorker published allegations against Weinstein from 13 more women. Eventually, over 100 women came forward claiming they were assaulted or harassed by Weinstein. It is said that he even tried to keep some people quiet with hush money, but they all declined.
In May of 1018, Weinstein surrenders to police on charges of both rape and assault in New York. He pleaded not guilty to these charges and one of them was dropped.
Weinstein was charged again in Manhattan, New York for assault on a female actress as well as rape. The trial took place, beginning in early January 2020. Victim testimonies played a big role in this trial. They presented detailed accounts, stating individual experiences. He was found guilty and sentenced just a few months later in March of 2020 for 23 years regarding his crimes.
Two years later, Weinstein was charged again in Los Angeles, California on separate accounts of raping an actress. He was sentenced to an additional 16 years on top of his 23 years in February of 2023.
Over a year later, in April of 2024, Wienstien’s New York conviction was overturned in a 4-3 ruling, and a new trial was ordered. This was done by the state’s Court of Appeals. The reasoning behind this call was due to the judge at the time making a critical mistake, allowing women who weren’t involved in a particular crime to testify.
Judge Jenny Rivera wrote for the majority saying that the decision was made based on a pre-existing New York law. This law stated that witnesses testifying against the defendant must have their accusations part of the conviction the defendant is facing.
Since the trial judge allowed witnesses to testify against Weinstein despite their accusations of not being a part of the original trials, the convictions were overturned. However, Weinstein is still serving time for his charges in California.