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(NewsNation) — Harvey Weinstein will be retried for a 2020 rape conviction in New York. What could this mean for his 2022 rape conviction case in Los Angeles?
Defense attorney Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s New York attorney, says he’s hopeful for an appeal in California.
“There are different rules regarding evidence (in Los Angeles). At the trial in LA, the jurors were made aware that that Mr. Weinstein was a convicted felon,” Aidala said Wednesday, during an appearance on NewsNation’s “CUOMO.” “That Mr. Weinstein had been convicted of crimes in New York. That’s no longer the case. … I think that calls for a new trial in LA.”
What happened in New York?
New York’s highest court threw out Weinstein’s 2020 rape convictions after the Court of Appeals found the trial judge in the case prejudiced Weinstein with “egregious” improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations with which Weinstein wasn’t charged in the case.
Will Weinstein be released from jail?
The decision to overturn Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction doesn’t mean he will be released from prison. He will remain imprisoned because he was convicted in Los Angeles in 2022 of another rape and sentenced to 16 years.
Weinstein’s Los Angeles attorney told NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live” that she believes the overturned New York conviction will impact his California rape case and said the former movie mogul could potentially be freed from prison.
“The presumption of innocence just didn’t exist for Harvey Weinstein from the start,” Jennifer Bonjean, Weinstein’s attorney, said Monday on “Dan Abrams Live.”
NewsNation’s Urja Sinha and The Associated Press contributed to this report.