In a complete surprise, a court in New York has overturned the historic 2020 conviction of former film mogul Harvey Weinstein for sex crimes. The lawyers at the appeals court in the US east coast metropolis thus revoked one of the most sensational legal rulings of recent years. The case played a key role in triggering the MeToo movement. Weinstein remains in custody because of another conviction.
According to the judges, the reason for the annulment is a procedural error: the prosecution also relied on witness statements in the trial that were not part of the indictment. “We conclude that the trial court erred in admitting testimony regarding unprosecuted, alleged prior sexual conduct against persons other than the plaintiffs in the underlying offenses,” the trial court wrote, certifying then-Judge James Burke serious allegations Procedural errors. The decision of the seven judges was extremely close at 4:3.
District Attorney decides on new trial
According to the New York Times, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg must now decide whether to initiate a new case against Weinstein. A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office told The Daily Beast that they would do “everything in our power to retry this case.” Weinstein is in a prison in New York state.
According to Weinstein’s lawyer Arthur Aidala, his client will now be moved closer to the metropolis. He could come back to court and present his side of things: “He is eager to tell his story from day one.” Aidala emphasized that his team “knew from the beginning that Weinstein did not get a fair trial.”
The decision overturning the 2020 verdict describes the admission of the additional witnesses as a serious “mistake”: “The only evidence against the defendant was the statements of the plaintiffs, and the result of the court decisions was, on the one hand, to strengthen their credibility and the “To diminish the defendant’s character in front of the jury.”
With the help of other witnesses, the public prosecutor wanted to show that Weinstein’s actions followed a recurring pattern. The sensational trial essentially revolved around two allegations: Weinstein is said to have forced production assistant Mimi Haleyi to perform oral sex in 2006 and to have raped current hairdresser Jessica Mann in 2013.
Horrified reaction from an Oscar winner
The first Weinstein trial marked a milestone in legal history – also because the former Hollywood great was found guilty primarily on the basis of the statements of witnesses, even though he himself always protested his innocence. Material evidence played a subordinate role in the proceedings.
One reaction came from actress Mira Sorvino. The Oscar winner (“Beloved Aphrodite”) was one of the first women to accuse the US film producer of sexual harassment. “Horrified!” wrote the 56-year-old on the platform X (formerly Twitter). “Since when do courts not allow evidence of patterns of behavior that support past bad deeds?”
According to the women’s statements, Weinstein’s scam was to lure young actresses into hotel rooms under the pretense that he thought they were talented and wanted to help them with their careers. There he then demanded sexual acts from them. According to the prosecution, Weinstein took advantage of his prominent position of power in Hollywood to make the women compliant. He was very successful as a producer of films such as “Pulp Fiction” and “Gangs of New York”, and Weinstein also won an Oscar for “Shakespeare in Love”.
Weinstein came to the trial in 2020 with a walker
At the trial in New York, Weinstein always came to court with a walker, which critics saw as an attempt by his defense to portray him as weak and not scary. As managing director of his film company Miramax, Weinstein had a reputation for having an extremely powerful and loud, sometimes aggressive demeanor.
More than 80 women had accused Weinstein of sexual assault. The allegations against the producer, published by the New York Times and New Yorker magazine in fall 2017, marked the beginning of the MeToo movement.
The beginning of the MeToo movement
All over the world, many women and some men recognized their own stories in those of the alleged Weinstein victims – they began collecting these stories under the catchphrase “Me too.” The MeToo movement celebrated the verdict against Weinstein – but also criticized the fact that he was not found guilty on all charges.
The MeToo movement is seen as a driver of global equality between women and men. Due to the international debate and the condemnation of Weinstein, who was seen by many as the prototype of the abusive man, many unjust and sexist behaviors in societies were questioned. Actress Ashley Judd, who spoke about Weinstein in the New York Times article in 2017, said the appeals court decision was “unfair to the victims.” “We still live in our truth. And we know what happened.”