New trial date set for disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein
Disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein was convicted in New York on rape and sexual assault charges four and a half years ago.
However, Weinstein's guilty verdict was thrown out on appeal this past spring and a new trial date has just been set.
Appeals court found that trial judge made "egregious errors"
According to Breitbart, Judge Curtis Farber announced on Friday that the 72-year-old's new trial will begin on November 12, with a pre-trial hearing set for September 12.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled on April 25 that Weinstein's trial judge made "egregious errors" by allowing testimony regarding crimes for which the former movie producer had not been charged.
The Independent noted how Weinstein's defense team had argued that their client "was judged, not on the conduct for which he was indicted, but on irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts."
Arthur Aidala serves as Weinstein's head counsel, and he was quoted by the paper as saying that the defendant was "tried on his character, not the evidence."
"Today's legal ruling is a great day for America because it instills in us the faith that there is a justice system, that a judge... will say: 'I don’t care who the defendant is, if it's a former president of the United States, or the most storied Hollywood producer of our generation. The law applies to everyone," he added.
Accusers denounce ruling
However, the Independent also pointed out that the decision was not well received by some of Weinstein's alleged victims, including actress Ashely Judd.
She complained at a press conference, "This is what it's like to be a woman in America, living with male entitlement to our bodies."
Attorney Lindsay Goldbrum represented six of Weinstein's accusers, and she spoke up as well, calling the decision a "leap backward for the rule of law."
"To all victims of sexual assault who are re-traumatized by today’s ruling, I am so sorry," Goldbrum said to NBC News.
Weinstein was also convicted of sexual assault in California
Still, accuser Evgeniya Chernyshova was quick to stress that Weinstein was also convicted on sexual assault charges in California as well.
BREAKING: Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned by NY appeals court, finding the judge made improper rulings.
Weinstein will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in LA in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison. https://t.co/xpKTPhTGrA
— NBC News (@NBCNews) April 25, 2024
Her attorney David M. Ring told NBC News that "she and I are confident that Weinstein’s Los Angeles conviction for rape will be upheld."