A New York appeals court moved on Thursday to overturn the 2020 rape conviction of former Miramax producer Harvey Weinstein, citing “egregious” rulings that allowed allegations unrelated to the charges to be introduced in testimony.
The court’s 4-3 ruling came down in Weinstein’s favor, leaving it up to prosecutors whether or not they will try him again.
“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,” the decision read in part. “The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial.”
“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,” the decision…
