New York’s highest court has agreed to hear an appeal by disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein challenging his 2020 sentence on sex offense charges, according to a copy of court filings provided by Weinstein’s team.
Chief Justice of Appeals Janet Defiore’s decision will allow Weinstein’s lawyers to argue their case before the court, more than two years after he was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape charges. Gaya and was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The judge signed the discharge certificate on August 19, stating that it “contains questions of law that must be reviewed by the Court of Appeal.”
The allegations against the ever powerful filmmaker fueled the global #MeToo movement and encouraged women to speak out against sexual abuse. His conviction in New York was met with praise from prosecutors and leaders of the movement.
Weinstein has maintained his innocence and has denied all of the charges against him since they first surfaced. In a motion filed last year, his lawyers argued that Weinstein’s sentence should be overturned because his trial was tainted for several reasons, notably a biased judge and juror.
Weinstein said in a statement to CNN through a spokesperson, “I am acquitted of these allegations, and I am very grateful to my lawyers for their hard work and smart work on this. Their hard work has helped me to recognize my innocence.” It will help to prove it.” “I look forward to this opportunity to be heard by the New York Court of Appeals.
Weinstein’s spokeswoman Juda Engelmayer said in a statement to CNN that Weinstein’s team is grateful for the rare opportunity to argue their case before the state’s highest court, adding that “there was a lot wrong in the trial and conviction and that Harvey’s” The counsel for the U.S. will do what is needed to prove his innocence on the charges.”
A spokesman for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment on the court’s certificate accepting Weinstein’s application.
Weinstein’s 2020 trial saw the testimony of several actresses, a production assistant and a screenwriter. The charges against him were based on the testimony of former production assistant Miriam Haley and former actress Jessica Mann.
Haley testified that Weinstein forcibly had oral sex with her in his Manhattan apartment in 2006. Mann testified that he raped her in 2013 in what he described as an abusive relationship.
In June, a lower state appeals court rejected her request to appeal against her sexual act and rape convictions. In an effort to reverse the conviction, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that trial jurors were overwhelmed by “bad evidence” and that a juror who wrote a book involving “hunting men” should have been sacked.
Weinstein is serving his prison sentence in Los Angeles, where he still faces sexual assault charges involving multiple women. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due back in court later this year.