Harvey Weinstein’s legal team is arguing for an appeal to his 2020 rape conviction in the Court of Appeals in Albany, New York on Wednesday.
The disgraced movie mogul was sentenced to 23 years in prison after being convicted in February 2020 of forcing oral sex on TV and film production assistant Mimi Haley in 2006 and third-degree rape of hairstylist Jessica Mann in 2013.
He was acquitted of first-degree rape and two counts of predatory sexual assault from actor Annabella Sciorra’s allegations of rape in the ’90s. He has denied ever engaging in non-consensual sex.
HARVEY WEINSTEIN’S APPEAL BLAMING ‘ME TOO’ FOR CONVICTION IS ‘DESPERATE’ LAST-DITCH ATTEMPT: EXPERT
In January 2023, Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, filed an appeal for a new trial, arguing Weinstein didn’t receive a “fair trial” due to “legally insufficient charges.”
New York State Supreme Court Justice James Burke determined how long the former Hollywood titan would spend in prison for his crimes in New York. Weinstein’s legal team has raised issues with Burke’s handling of the case and ruling on evidence and a juror who wrote a novel about predatory older men.
“Harvey is innocent and never should have been convicted or even tried for these allegations,” Weinstein’s rep, Juda Engelmayer, told Fox News Digital.
“The trial failed at objectivity from the minute former Judge Burke berated Harvey, asking him if he wanted to spend the rest of his life in prison over the use of a cellphone that occurred before the judge ever entered the courtroom or began the day’s proceedings.
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“Burke was rejected from the bench as a result, and the case should have been too. From the lies a juror told to private lawyers representing non-case-related complainants acting as prosecutorial surrogates, as we were often gagged, the jury was steered in a direction they never would have gone in if it were honest.”
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After Weinstein’s sentencing in New York, he was extradited to California in July 2021 to face sexual assault allegations made by four women in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills between 2004 and 2013.
In December 2022, he was found guilty of rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving a woman known as Jane Doe 1. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023. Weinstein’s legal team has vowed to appeal the conviction.
