Harvey Weinstein has appealed against his LA rape conviction, six weeks after his separate New York rape conviction was overturned. Lawyers for the 72-year-old disgraced film producer say he didn't get a fair trial in the 2022 California case, where he was convicted of rape and sexual assault, which resulted in a 16-year jail sentence. He is requesting a new trial.
Weinstein's landmark 2020 New York conviction saw him handed a 23-year prison sentence and kickstarted a global #MeToo movement - but in April it was overturned by the state's highest court . It was ruled that the hearing had been prejudiced by "egregious" improper rulings by the judge, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that were not part of the case. Accordingly, Weinstein could potentially face a new trial in New York .
Now, in this appeal against his California conviction, Weinstein's lawyers claim he "stands wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting Jane Doe 1". LA appeal documents, seen by Sky News's US partner NBC, also make additional allegations. They claim evidence was wrongly excluded from the trial, showing that the model and actor Weinstein was convicted of raping had a sexual relationship with the director of a film festival.
Weinstein and the actor were in LA for the festival. The documents also say the judge was wrong to allow jurors to know about Weinstein's previous, now-vacated conviction in New York, and that in a similar situation to his now-overturned New York convic.
