The New York Court of Appeals overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction on Thursday, citing errors made by the trial judge. The court ruled that the judge unfairly biased the trial against Weinstein by allowing women to testify about allegations unrelated to the case. Weinstein will remain imprisoned due to a separate rape conviction in Los Angeles. The reversal is a setback for the #MeToo movement, coming after the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction appeal. Weinstein’s lawyers argued that the trial judge’s rulings turned the trial into a biased attack on Weinstein’s character, while prosecutors maintained that the additional evidence was necessary to provide context about Weinstein’s behavior with women.
