Former movie manufacturer Harvey Weinstein listens in courtroom all through a pre-trial listening to for Weinstein, who used to be extradited from New York to Los Angeles to stand sex-related fees in Los Angeles, California on July 29, 2021.
Etienne Laurent | AFP | Getty Photographs
A New York appeals courtroom has upheld Harvey Weinstein’s rape and sexual attack conviction, rejecting the disgraced media tycoon’s enchantment that steered a pass judgement on unfairly tilted the result of his trial in prefer of the prosecution.
The unanimous ruling by means of a five-justice appellate panel discovered the pass judgement on’s movements had been suitable and didn’t warrant overturning Weinstein’s 23-year sentence.
Weinstein used to be convicted in 2020 in New York sooner than being extradited to Los Angeles to look forward to trial on 11 further intercourse crimes fees.
Weinstein’s enchantment used to be filed in April 2021, a bit greater than a yr after he used to be convicted of a first-degree legal sexual act and third-degree rape. The arguments had been rejected in a 45-page ruling printed Thursday.
“We are patently disenchanted within the courtroom’s determination and look ahead to asking the Courtroom of Appeals to check what we consider are really extensive meritorious felony problems,” stated Barry Kamins, a spouse at Aidala, Bertuna and Kamins who represents Weinstein, in a remark. “Mr. Weinstein will proceed to pursue all to be had felony treatments to determine that he didn’t obtain an even trial.”
Weinstein’s lawyers had argued in his enchantment that mistakes by means of the trial pass judgement on made it unattainable for Weinstein to obtain an even trial. In addition they stated prosecutors must now not had been allowed to name witnesses to testify about habits for which Weinstein wasn’t charged. And so they stated one juror must had been got rid of from the case as a result of she wrote a e book that concerned “predatory males” and misled the courtroom in regards to the e book’s contents.
Within the ruling Thursday, Justice Angela Mazzarelli wrote on behalf of the courtroom that the trial pass judgement on had used discretion within the subject matter allowed all through the trial. She additionally famous that whilst the juror’s novel used to be about teenage ladies who’ve a dating with an older guy, the placement depicted wasn’t predatory.
“We understand no foundation for lowering the sentence, and we now have thought to be defendant’s final arguments and to find them unavailing,” Mazzarelli wrote.