New York Court Overturns Verdict in Producer Weinstein’s Case; there will be a new trial / Article

In the four-to-three decision, the justices pointed to errors in the process, including the admission of testimony that was not part of the charges against Weinstein. The judge allegedly erred by accepting testimony from other women who were allegedly abused by Weinstein but who were not named in the charges against him.

The ruling also said the judge was wrong to allow Weinstein to be questioned in a way that painted him in a “highly prejudicial” light.

“The accused has the right to be prosecuted only for the crime charged, therefore the accusations of previously committed acts against him cannot be recognized only to establish his criminal propensity,” Judge Jenny Rivera said in the opinion.

Attorney Douglas Vigdor, who has represented a total of eight Weinstein accusers, said that the reversal of the verdict is tragic because it means the victims have to go through the trial again. Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, who prosecuted Weinstein, said he was shocked by the decision because the justice system had failed victims who spoke publicly about their personal experiences and trauma in the courtroom.

On the other hand, Weinstein’s lawyer Artur Aidela welcomed the reversal of the sentence, saying that he always believed that the sentence was unjust: “No one is above the law. But no one is below the law either.”

In 2020, a New York court found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault and later sentenced him to 23 years in prison.

Weinstein is currently being held at Mohawk Prison in Rome, New York. He will soon be taken to a Manhattan court and his trial will begin anew with a new judge and prosecutor, Aidela said at a news conference.

A court in Los Angeles sentenced Weinstein to another 16 years in prison after the New York trial for raping a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel. He should have served this sentence after serving the first sentence. The latest New York Supreme Court ruling does not affect that sentence, so Weinstein will remain behind bars regardless of the outcome of the new trial.

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