On Monday, Harvey Weinstein’s legal team filed an appeal of his rape and sexual-assault convictions as well as his 23-year prison sentence. Weinstein’s lawyers largely reiterated complaints they had previously made about the case, including arguments that the trial judge, Justice James Burke, wrongly allowed a woman who had authored a novel involving predatory older men to sit on the jury.
In the nearly 190-page appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that he was “denied his constitutional right to be tried by an impartial jury†because of this juror.
“Juror No. 11’s fixation with matters of consent and predatory older men and her lack of candor about it, raises troubling questions about whether she prejudged Mr. Weinstein’s guilt and whether she had a personal agenda to see him convicted,†they wrote. “Allowing Juror No. 11 to participate in the deliberations did not merely obstruct the judicial process, it single-handedly obliterated it.â€
They also claimed that Burke wrongly allowed prosecutors to bring up allegations of sexual misconduct for which Weinstein wasn’t charged, further exacerbating the unfairness of these proceedings.
Among these uncharged allegations were statements in testimony from Dawn Dunning, Tarale Wulff, and Lauren Young. Dunning testified that Weinstein touched her genitals without consent during a meeting and said that, at a later point, he offered her film work in exchange for a threesome. Wulff claimed that Weinstein masturbated in front of her at the restaurant where she worked and raped her at his Soho apartment. Young alleged that Weinstein trapped her in the bathroom of his hotel room, groped her, and masturbated in front of her.
“As a result, Mr. Weinstein was tried not only for alleged criminal acts charged in the indictment, but also for his alleged propensity to behave in ways that evinced licentiousness in his relationships with women,†Weinstein’s attorneys wrote.
The filing of Weinstein’s detailed appeal papers comes just over a year after his sentencing on March 11, 2020. On February 24, 2020, a Manhattan jury convicted Weinstein of criminal sexual act in the first degree and rape in the third degree for attacks on Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, respectively.
Weinstein, who is presently behind bars in a New York State prison near Buffalo, has maintained his innocence. His lawyers filed a notice of appeal in early April 2020, indicating that they would fight the verdict. People found guilty of crimes have the right to appeal their convictions.
Weinstein, 69, also faces criminal charges in Los Angeles for alleged sex crimes.
As for the defense team’s complaints about his sentence, they argued: “Sadly for Mr. Weinstein, the trial court’s sentence reflects not on Mr. Weinstein, the man, and the conduct for which he was convicted, but on Mr. Weinstein the media villain.â€
“We ask that this Court consider whether a [then] 68 year-old man by any other name, with no criminal record, a lifetime of professional contributions in his field; an unparalleled history of charitable work; and serious medical conditions would have been sentenced so harshly for acts that involved no violence and no injury to the complainants, and where both complainants continued to have voluntary sex with the defendant. We think not,†they said.
Asked for comment, Manhattan DA’s office spokesman Danny Frost said in an email, “We will respond in our brief to the court.â€
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