Harvey Weinstein's felony sex crime conviction overturned by state's highest court

(NEW YORK POST) – Harvey Weinstein’s New York rape conviction was overturned Thursday by New York state’s highest court, which ordered that the disgraced Hollywood mogul should face a new trial.

In a 4-3 ruling, the New York State Court of Appeals found that a Manhattan judge “erroneously” allowed testimony from three women whose allegations weren’t connected to the case.

The trial judge, James Burke, also “compounded that error” by ruling that the former Hollywood producer, if he chose to testify, could be grilled on the witness stand “about those allegations as well as numerous allegations of misconduct that portrayed defendant in a highly prejudicial light.”

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“The remedy for these egregious errors is a new trial,” the appeals court said. The court was looking to see whether allowing the other women to testify would be valuable for jurors to understand Weinstein’s “intent” to carry out the crime – something Weinstein’s lawyers said would unfairly “prejudice” the jury.

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