A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal on Friday unanimously upheld Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges. In a written opinion, the judges said the trial judge did not violate Weinstein’s constitutional rights.
“We reject his attempts to disturb the jury’s guilty verdicts,” the judges wrote in their opinion.
The appeals court ordered the trial judge who imposed a 16-year prison sentence to resentence Weinstein.
Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in an email that the defense was disappointed with the ruling. “We are disappointed by today’s decision and respectfully disagree with the Court of Appeal’s conclusions regarding the fairness of Mr. Weinstein’s trial,” Engelmayer said. “At the same time, the court correctly recognized that his sentence cannot stand.”
The decision capped a significant week in Weinstein’s legal proceedings. On Thursday, New York prosecutors moved to dismiss the remaining rape charge against Weinstein, declining to pursue a fourth trial after the accuser said she could not bear to testify again.