Court upholds Weinstein’s intercourse crimes convictions

By Sonia Moghe and Dakin Andone | VFAB

Harvey Weinstein’s prison intercourse act and rape convictions have been upheld by a New York appellate courtroom.

All appellate judges concurred in the belief.

In a assertion, Weistein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer claimed his lawful team was “disappointed, but not stunned.”

“We are reviewing all of our solutions and will seek to petition the court appeals and outside of.”

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a statement expressed gratitude for a selection upholding “a monumental conviction that adjusted the way prosecutors and courts approach intricate prosecutions of sexual predators.”

Weinstein’s appeal was filed very last April, about one particular yr following he was convicted of very first-diploma criminal sexual act and 3rd-diploma rape. He is serving a 23-12 months jail sentence.

In a motion filed final 12 months, Weinstein’s lawyers argued the disgraced Hollywood mogul’s 2020 conviction really should be reversed mainly because his trial was tainted for various good reasons, most notably a biased judge and juror.

Weinstein even now faces trial in Los Angeles for added criminal costs connected to the alleged sexual assault of a number of ladies. He has pleaded not responsible.

An lawyer for Weinstein argued the attraction in a hearing just before a panel of New York State appeals court docket judges in December, expressing just one juror who had written a e book that concerned “predatory men” misled the court about the book’s contents and really should have been dismissed.

Assistant Manhattan District Lawyer Valerie Figueredo argued the e book did not relate to the conduct Weinstein was accused of.

“It merely did not show that she experienced any kind of bias or a condition of thoughts that rendered her incapable of issuing a truthful and neutral verdict,” Figueredo informed the 5 judges for the Appellate Division of the Very first Judicial Office of the Supreme Court docket of the Condition of New York.

Weinstein attorney Barry Kamins also argued demo jurors ended up overcome by “bad evidence” that ought to not have been admitted by the judge.

“This was a trial of his character,” Kamins said, incorporating afterwards, “I really do not think there’s been a situation, that I can recall, wherever the piling on has been as apparent as it was in this circumstance.”

Weinstein has managed his innocence and denied all allegations versus him considering the fact that they very first emerged, sparking the #MeToo movement and encouraging women to talk out and share their individual encounters with sexual abuse and misconduct.