Harvey Weinstein, who once used to get lauded by film experts and media alike for seldom losing box office battles as a producer, is now showing no signs of accepting a defeat in the legal arena.
On Wednesday, the disgraced producer’s lawyer approached the highest court in New York to overturn his conviction, saying that too many accusers were allowed to testify at this trial.
Harvey Weinstein’s Lawyer Challenge His 2020 R*pe Conviction
Harvey Weinstein‘s dominance in Hollywood came crashing down after a New York Times report detailed scores of allegations of se*ual harassment against the producer.
Eventually, the 71-year-old found himself under the scanner of the law. In 2020, he was convicted of a criminal s*x act for forcibly performing oral s*x on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and r*pe in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013, as per the Associated Press.
He was sentenced to 23 years in prison and is currently serving his sentence at Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, N.Y. The court’s decision gave a huge boost to the #MeToo movement, which saw many women from different fields and backgrounds come forward to reveal and raise their voices against past se*ual misconduct.
The AP reported that his lawyer Arthur Aidala urged the state’s Court of Appeals to overturn his 2020 conviction, arguing that the trial judge, James Burke, trampled Weinstein’s right to a fair trial by allowing three women, whose allegations weren’t part of the r*pe case, to testify.
Aidala challenged the trial judge’s ruling allowing three women to testify as “Molineux” witnesses. The women spoke about se*ual assaults that were not among the charges but did help establish a pattern.
“It was his character that was on trial. It wasn’t the evidence that was on trial,” Aidala said. It’s added that Weinstein’s lawyers want a new trial, but only for the criminal se*ual act charge.
Additionally, the media mogul was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2023 for a r*pe conviction in Los Angeles.
How Harvey Weinstein Was Brought Under the Spotlight
In October of 2017, the New York Times stunned the whole industry with their report. Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd and many more came forward to uncover Weinstein’s disgraceful antics.
He allegedly forced women to massage him and watch him n*ked. The powerful producer was also alleged to have demanded se*ual favors in exchange for offering roles and other career opportunities.
Gwyneth Paltrow, who worked in multiple Weinstein-backed projects in the late 90s, including Shakespeare in Love, was also named an influential figure behind the New York Times story.
As per the book titled She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement, the actress became an early, crucial source. She also helped the investigation by trying to recruit other actresses to speak.
