Weinstein loses bid to overturn California rape conviction

A California appeals court on Friday upheld ex-Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction in the state but ordered that the trial judge who gave him 16 years in prison resentence him.

A unanimous three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals rejected Weinstein’s efforts to overturn the guilty verdicts, finding that his Los Angeles trial judge did not violate his constitutional rights.

The court, however, found a resentencing appropriate, citing that the trial judge who sentenced Weinstein to 16 years in prison relied in part on his convictions in New York that were overturned due to “egregious” judicial errors.

The decision comes a day after prosecutors in the Empire State dropped another case against Weinstein. He will not face a fourth trial in the New York rape case after his accuser said she could not endure another trial in the MeToo-era case.

The New York charge remains unresolved after the conviction was later followed by two hung juries.

“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,” Weinstein spokesperson Juda Engelmayer said in a statement to The Associated Press. “At the same time, the court correctly recognized that his sentence cannot stand.”

“This is not the end of the appellate process,” Engelmayer added. “We intend to seek review in the California Supreme Court because we continue to believe significant legal errors affected the proceedings and warrant further review.”

Weinstein, 74, remains behind bars after he was convicted of a sexual felony in New York. Sentencing in that case, where prosecutors are seeking a 20-year prison sentence, is expected in September.

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