After Harvey Weinstein’s Conviction Is Overturned, Victims Vow To See Him Back In Court

On Thursday, New York’s highest court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, which has left those who had testified against the former movie mogul left to prepare for a potential retrial.

The court’s decision hinged on the finding that the trial judge had unfairly allowed testimony based on allegations that were not part of the case against Weinstein. The verdict reopened a painful chapter in America’s collective perspective of sexual misconduct by influential individuals, a movement that gained momentum in 2017 with a deluge of allegations against Weinstein. This manifested in the global survivor-led movement against sexual violence – #MeToo.

Advocates of the #MeToo movement emphasized that the ruling was based on legal technicalities and did not absolve Weinstein’s behavior. They asserted that the original trial had undeniably shifted societal attitudes towards sexual assault. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office expressed its intention to retry Weinstein, while one of his accusers, through her lawyer, confirmed her willingness to testify once again.

The state Court of Appeals, in a 4-3 decision, invalidated Weinstein’s 23-year sentence and cited the trial court’s mistaken admission of testimony regarding uncharged prior sexual acts. It criticized the allowance of questions about Weinstein’s “bad behavior” if he had testified and deemed it highly prejudicial and an abuse of judicial discretion.

Dissenting Judge Madeline Singas voiced her distress over the disturbing pattern of overturning guilty verdicts in cases related to sexual violence. They argued that such rulings came at the expense and safety of women. 

This reversal of Weinstein’s conviction marks the second significant setback for the #MeToo movement in recent years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Bill Cosby’s appeal of his sexual assault conviction in Pennsylvania.

Weinstein, who has consistently maintained his innocence, has been serving his prison sentence at the Mohawk Correctional Facility. Although Weinstein will remain imprisoned due to his conviction in Los Angeles in 2022 for another rape, his lawyers anticipate that Thursday’s ruling will significantly impact his appeal in the California case. They contend that the conviction there was tainted by the knowledge of his New York conviction, which has now been overturned on the grounds of unfairness. The defense team’s arguments in the California appeal are due May 20.

Debra Katz, a prominent civil rights and #MeToo attorney who represented several Weinstein accusers, said that her clients were devastated by the ruling. Still, nevertheless, she felt it was important to remind them that their testimony had already changed the world. 

“People continue to come forward, people continue to support other victims who’ve reported sexual assault and violence, and I truly believe there’s no going back from that,” she said. 

In 2021, a judge approved a $21 million settlement for Weinstein’s many victims.