WARNING: This text could have an effect on those that have skilled sexual violence or know somebody affected by it.
5 years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and hauled to jail in handcuffs, the previous film mogul returns to a Manhattan courthouse Tuesday for a brand new trial overlaying most of the exact same allegations — plus one which hasn’t been tried earlier than.
Weinstein pushed for an earlier retrial date, as he has been out and in of the hospital frequently for quite a lot of well being issues
Now 73, he’s far faraway from the time when he was among the many strongest males within the film enterprise.
The film mogul’s Miramax after which Weinstein Firm earned 81 Academy Award nominations starting in 1988, together with six finest image winners. Whereas his bullying behaviour was an open secret within the movie trade, a pair of exposés printed days aside by the New York Instances and the New Yorker in 2017 noticed a number of girls stage allegations of sexual assault and, in some cases, rape.
The articles, in addition to a tweet from the actress Alyssa Milano days later, galvanized a #MeToo motion and inspired extra girls to go public with allegations of predatory behaviour by males throughout industries.
New York’s highest court docket has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape, a landmark ruling of the #MeToo motion. Andrew Chang explains how the prosecution knew it was taking a bet, and the place that gamble went flawed.
Inside days, Weinstein was fired from his firm and his spouse initiated divorce proceedings. A grand jury in New York indicted him in spring 2018, step one towards his felony trial.
For the retrial, Weinstein has pleaded not responsible and denies that he raped or sexually assaulted anybody. Prosecutors usually are not allowed to retry Weinstein on sure counts that he was acquitted of throughout his first trial.
Why is there a brand new trial?
The state’s Court docket of Appeals threw out Weinstein’s convictions and 23-year jail sentence and ordered a brand new trial after discovering that the unique one was tilted by “egregious” judicial rulings and prejudicial testimony.
In a 4-3 resolution, the court docket stated then-Decide James Burke had denied Weinstein a totally honest trial by letting three girls testify about allegations that weren’t a part of the case.
The court docket labelled the allegations towards Weinstein “appalling, shameful, repulsive conduct” however warned that “destroying a defendant’s character beneath the guise of prosecutorial want” didn’t justify some trial proof and testimony.
What’s the new cost he faces?
Weinstein faces allegations not heard within the first trial, the results of one rely of felony intercourse act for allegedly forcing oral intercourse on a girl at a Manhattan lodge in 2006.
Prosecutors stated that the girl got here ahead to them simply days earlier than the beginning of Weinstein’s first trial however was not a part of that case. They stated they didn’t pursue the ladies’s allegations after Weinstein’s conviction, however revisited them and secured a brand new indictment after the primary verdict was thrown out.
Weinstein’s attorneys contend that prosecutors should not have waited practically 5 years to convey the extra cost.
Which allegations shall be heard once more?
Weinstein is being retried on two fees from his unique trial.
He faces one rely of felony intercourse act for allegedly forcibly performing oral intercourse on a film and TV manufacturing assistant.
Miriam Haley, a former manufacturing assistant on the Weinstein-produced Venture Runway, testified on the 2020 trial that he pushed her onto a mattress at his Manhattan residence in June 2006 and compelled oral intercourse on her, undeterred by her kicks and pleas.
Haley, who has additionally passed by the identify Mimi Haleyi, acknowledged that she stored in contact with Weinstein, exchanged heat messages with him, and accepted an invite to his lodge room two weeks after the alleged assault, the place he pulled her into mattress for intercourse. Underneath New York regulation relevant on the time, Weinstein has not been charged with rape in reference to Haley’s allegations.
Weinstein additionally faces one rely of third-degree rape for allegedly assaulting an Jessica Mann in a Manhattan lodge room in 2013.
Mann, who stated she noticed Weinstein as a “pseudo father” determine as she pursued an performing profession after a tough upbringing, testified on the 2020 trial that he trapped her within the lodge room, ordered her to undress as he loomed over her after which raped her. She alleges that Weinstein raped her once more eight months later at a Beverly Hills lodge, the place she labored as a hairdresser.
Mann additionally stored in contact with Weinstein after the alleged assault, testifying that she despatched him flattering emails, as a result of “his ego was so fragile,” she stated, and it “made me really feel protected, worshipping him on this sense.”
The Related Press doesn’t typically establish folks alleging sexual assault until they consent to be named, as Haley and Mann have achieved.
If Weinstein is acquitted at this trial, would he go free?
No. Weinstein final yr rejected an extradition request from California, the place he was discovered responsible of rape, compelled oral copulation and one other sexual misconduct rely involving a girl generally known as Jane Doe 1, after a two-month trial held in Los Angeles in late 2022.
He was sentenced early the next yr to 16 years in jail, which was to start after the New York punishment was served.
Weinstein’s conviction in California is topic to overview, however authorized specialists stated within the wake of the overturning of the New York verdict, that the 2 states had guidelines that differed relating to testimony about prior acts and behavior.
If you happen to’re in quick hazard or worry to your security or that of others round you, please name 911. For help in your space, you possibly can search for disaster traces and native companies by way of the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.
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