Weinstein rape conviction overturned by New York Supreme Court

The New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the U.S. state of New York, has overturned the rape conviction of film producer Harvey Weinstein.

According to the Associated Press, a New York appeals court overturned Weinstein's rape conviction on Thursday because the court found that the judge who presided over Weinstein's trial acted biasedly by allowing some women to testify about events outside the charges in the case. The court ordered a new trial for Weinstein and overturned the conviction.

Weinstein's legal problems began in 2017 when a series of sexual assault allegations dating back to the 1970s emerged. As a result, in 2018, Weinstein's film studio, The Weinstein Company, filed for bankruptcy. Just three months later, Weinstein was arrested and charged with rape after turning himself in to authorities.

Weinstein was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape in 2020 and is serving a 23-year sentence at Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, New York. Although the conviction was overturned, Weinstein will continue to serve his sentence as a Los Angeles court convicted the disgraced film producer of rape in 2022. That separate trial resulted in a 16-year sentence.

The allegations of sexual assault against Weinstein sparked the #MeToo social media movement, which has led to other victims coming forward to accuse men, especially in Hollywood, of sexual abuse or misconduct.