7:28 AM PT — A rep for the Manhattan D.A.’s Office tells TMZ … “We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault.”
Harvey Weinstein‘s New York rape conviction just got overturned in the appeals court — and a new trial has been ordered … although it remains to be seen if he’ll be prosecuted again.
The 4-3 ruling came down Thursday … with the majority of judges agreeing that the disgraced movie producer’s constitutional rights were violated back in 2020 when this case was first going down. According to them, prosecutors allowed other women to testify who weren’t pertinent to the charges he was facing.
They ultimately decided that he ended up getting put on trial over other instances of alleged past behavior … as opposed to the specific crimes he’d been charged with, and as a result — the New York Court of Appeals says Weinstein deserves a completely new jury to weigh in.
You’ll recall … Weinstein was convicted on 2 of the 5 charges he was up against — including being found guilty of a 1st-degree criminal sexual act and 3rd-degree rape. The case pertained to claims made by two women, Miriam Haley and Jessica Mann, even though the prosecution called several other women to testify against him to establish a pattern.
At this point, it’s unclear if the Manhattan D.A.’s Office is going to proceed with another trial — they kinda have their hands full with Donald Trump right now.
While Weinstein might be off the hook in his New York case, he’s still got one other conviction on his plate here in California — remember, he was found guilty on 3 of 7 charges here in Los Angeles in 2022 … including rape, forcible oral copulation, and others.
He was sentenced to 16 years behind bars in the L.A. case, and 23 years in prison in NY. With his East Coast conviction now tossed, the latter sentence is technically off the table … but it doesn’t sound like he’s going to be released anytime soon.
Weinstein is currently incarcerated in an upstate New York facility.
Originally Published — 6:35 AM PT