BREAKING: NY Top Court Tosses Weinstein Rape Conviction

In a 4-3 decision, the New York Court of Appeals found that the trial judge who presided over Mr. Weinstein’s case had made a crucial mistake, allowing prosecutors to call as witnesses a series of women who said Mr. Weinstein had assaulted them — but whose accusations were not part of the charges against him.

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Citing that decision and others it identified as errors, the appeals court determined that Mr. Weinstein, who as a movie producer had been one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, had not received a fair trial. The four judges in the majority wrote that Mr. Weinstein was not tried solely on the crimes he was charged with, but instead for much of his past behavior.

Ed Morrissey

That may be a problem in Weinstein's Los Angeles conviction too. Legal observers at the time warned that allowing uncharged allegations could result in a reversal on appeal. It's generally not done, unless the defense creates an error that allows such testimony as rebuttal. 

Now we'll have to see whether Alvin Bragg can handle this better than Cy Vance did. 

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