A California appeals court has affirmed the 2022 rape and sexual assault conviction of disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein. While the panel of three judges upheld the jury’s guilty verdict, they simultaneously vacated the original 16-year prison sentence and instructed the lower court judge to oversee a new sentencing process.
In an online update, the California 2nd District Court of Appeal confirmed the decision, stating that the judgment was affirmed in all other respects while the sentence itself was vacated and remanded for reconsideration. The judges unanimously rejected the defense’s challenges to the trial proceedings, noting that the trial judge did not violate Weinstein’s constitutional rights.
The appellate panel ordered the resentencing because the original court had improperly utilized overturned New York convictions as an aggravating factor when determining the length of the prison term. California’s attorney general concurred with this assessment. Juda Engelmayer, a spokesperson for the 74-year-old former mogul, expressed disappointment in the ruling and confirmed the defense team’s intent to appeal the decision to the California Supreme Court.
The court’s decision follows a separate development in New York, where prosecutors recently dropped a fourth trial against Weinstein after an accuser declined to testify again, citing the personal toll of repeating her testimony. Weinstein remains incarcerated, awaiting sentencing in another New York case where he was found guilty of a sexual felony, with prosecutors currently seeking a 20-year term to be issued this September.
Weinstein’s legal woes originated from widespread allegations of misconduct that surfaced through investigative reports in The New Yorker and The New York Times, eventually triggering the global #MeToo movement. Despite the mounting legal pressure and evidence from over 80 accusers, Weinstein has consistently maintained his innocence regarding all allegations. Should his California sentence be finalized, it will only begin once his current New York prison term is completed.
