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Harvey Weinstein appeals sexual assault conviction, claims he was 'deprived of fair trial'
Harvey Weinstein and his legal team alleged that they were 'deprived of fair trial' and the fresh appeal comes in order to help quash his 23-year long jail sentence.
Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a 23 years long jail term, on Monday lodged a fresh appeal against his sexual assault convictions. As per international reports, Harvey and his legal team alleged that they were 'deprived of fair trial' and the fresh appeal comes in order to help quash his years long jail sentence after he was convicted in February 2020.
According to a latest BBC report, one of Weinstein's lawyers, Arthur Aidala told the news outlet, "With a year behind us and emotions subsided, the transcript of the case confirms what we always believed: that Mr Weinstein did not receive a fair trial." As per reports, Weinstein's new appeal is at least 165 pages long and has been filed with the Appellate Division First Department.
Weinstein's conviction last year was a landmark event in the MeToo movement that took Hollywood by storm in 2017. The producer giant's spokesman Juda Engelmayer in a press release stated, "The foregoing issues highlight a myriad of ways in which Mr. Weinstein was deprived of a fair trial. The American criminal justice system was designed to convict defendants based on their conduct — not their general character."
The appeal claimed that 'Juror No 11' shouldn't have been part of the trial as Weinstein's team contend that the author repeatedly lied to the court about a novel she wrote featuring predatory older men and their relationships with girls.
“Allowing Juror. No. 11 to participate in the deliberations did not merely obstruct the judicial process, it single-handedly obliterated it,” attorney Aidala wrote as per Page Six. In the appeal, the legal team has highlighted seven examples of "errors" that, in their view, compromised the fairness of the trial.
While Weinstein is convicted for two cases in New York, he still awaits sentencing for sexual assault crimes in Los Angeles. The producer has been locked up at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York.
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