The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday overturned the sex crimes conviction against Harvey Weinstein, the powerful Hollywood producer whose downfall stood as a symbol of the #MeToo movement.
The court, by a 4-3 vote, ordered a new trial.
“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 because that testimony served no material non-propensity purpose,” the ruling, written by Judge Jenny Rivera, states.
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“The court compounded that error when it ruled that defendant, who had no criminal history, could be cross-examined about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.
“The synergistic effect of these errors was not harmless.”
Weinstein, 72, is being held at Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York, according to the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. He was sentenced last year in Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for charges of rape and sexual assault.
CNN reached out to Weinstein’s attorney Arthur Aidala and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for comment.
In New York, Weinstein was convicted in 2020 of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape, and he was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The charges that resulted in convictions were based on the testimony of Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann. In addition, three other women testified during the trial as “prior bad acts” witnesses as prosecutors sought to show Weinstein had a pattern of abuse.
