In a stunning move, New York’s highest court of appeals on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction.
Among the reasons adduced is that the judge at the clamorous #MeToo trial, held at a time in history when the subject of sexual abuse reached a fever pitch, prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with “egregious” improper rulings, including allowing women to testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
The court’s 4-3 decision said, “We conclude that the trial court erroneously admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes,”
Weinstein’s trial was deemed to have been so compromised that, “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
The court’s majority said, “it is an abuse of judicial discretion to permit untested allegations of nothing more than bad behavior that destroys a defendant’s character but sheds no light on their credibility as related to the criminal charges lodged against them.”
Judge Madeline Singas wrote a blistering dissent, maintaining that the majority was “whitewashing the facts to conform to a he-said/she-said narrative,” and said the Court of Appeals was continuing a “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence.”
“The majority’s determination perpetuates outdated notions of sexual violence and allows predators to escape accountability,” Singas wrote.
The #MeToo movement, which gained significant momentum in 2017, represented a watershed moment in societal awareness and action against sexual harassment and assault. Originating from a phrase coined by activist Tarana Burke and popularized by actress Alyssa Milano, the movement quickly evolved into a global phenomenon that transcended borders and industries.
It brought to light the pervasive nature of sexual misconduct, particularly in the workplace, and empowered survivors to share their stories. The movement’s impact was profound, leading to the downfall of powerful figures across various sectors, sparking legal reforms, and initiating a broader conversation about consent, power dynamics, and gender equity.
While the movement brought increased visibility to the issue of sexual violence, it was also heavily criticized, at times it seemed to be everywhere and created a frenzy of retribution, destroying the careers of many men accused of abuse and harassment. Some of the criticism revolved around the fact that the accusations dated back decades and there was no proof other than the accuser’s claims.
The reversal of Weinstein’s conviction is the second major #MeToo setback in the last two years, after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a Pennsylvania court decision to throw out Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction.
Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a New York prison following his conviction on charges of criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013.
While the ruling will give Weinstein another chance to prove his innocence in the present case, he will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison. Weinstein was acquitted in Los Angeles on charges involving one of the women who testified in New York.
The Court of Appeals agreed last year to take Weinstein’s case after an intermediate appeals court upheld his conviction. Prior to their ruling, judges on the lower appellate court had raised doubts about Burke’s conduct during oral arguments. One observed that Burke had let prosecutors pile on with “incredibly prejudicial testimony” from additional witnesses.
Weinstein’s lawyers have argued that Judge James Burke’s rulings in favor of the prosecution turned the trial into “1-800-GET-HARVEY.” This new ruling seems to agree that it was not a fair and impartial trial.
Burke’s term expired at the end of 2022. He was not reappointed and is no longer a judge.
