An attorney for Danny Masterson has filed to appeal his 2023 conviction for sexual assault. Page Six obtained the 246-page document from lawyer Cliff Gardner. In a statement, Gardner claims the trial was “rife with erroneous judicial rulings that skewed the jury’s view of the evidence against him,†and that the judge wouldn’t admit “a stunning amount of exculpatory evidence.†Garnder also says Masterson’s habeas lawyer will soon be filing a “Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus documenting additional defects in the trial process.â€
Masterson was convicted of raping two women in 2003, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. It was Masterson’s second trial, as the first ended in deadlock. Masterson was convicted on two counts of sexual assault, but the jury remained deadlocked on the third count. At the sentencing, Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo told Masterson “One way or another, you will have to come to terms with your prior actions and their consequences. You were not convicted based on rumors, innuendo, gossip, and speculation.†Since entering prison, Masterson’s wife Bijou Phillips filed for divorce. He is currently serving time at the California’s Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.