New York Court Overturns Weinstein’s #MeToo Conviction, Orders Retrial

New York’s highest court has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding that the judge at his landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced him with “egregious” improper rulings. The Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for the disgraced former movie mogul after ruling that testimony from women about alleged incidents was incorrectly allowed and resulted in the “shearing down [Weinstein’s] character”. Weinstein, who is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence following his conviction on charges of raping an aspiring actress and sexually assaulting production assistant Mimi Haleyi, has also been sentenced to 16 years in Los Angeles after being convicted there last year. The Court’s majority said it was “an abuse of judicial discretion” to allow evidence relating to allegations that were not part of the charges against him. Dissenting judge Madeline Singas called on her colleagues to reject what she described as a “disturbing trend of overturning juries’ guilty verdicts in cases involving sexual violence”. Weinstein’s lawyers said they would be seeking his release from prison, but he will remain there while the legal process continues.
Background: In 2017, allegations against Harvey Weinstein sparked a wave of accusations about sexual assault and harassment by powerful men in Hollywood and beyond under the #MeToo hashtag. Dozens of women accused him of wrongdoing including actresses Ashley Judd and Uma Thurman. His New York trial, which took place two years ago this month, drew intense media attention with protesters chanting “rapist” outside the courthouse.
What was Harvey Weinstein convicted of in both his 2020 trial and a more recent trial in Los Angeles? What sentences did he receive for these convictions?