In a shocking turn of events, the New York state Appeals Court has overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction. What led to this ruling? What does this mean for the current state of the #MeToo movement? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni investigate.
What’s going on? Similar to the overturning of Bill Cosby’s sexual assault conviction, The New York State Court of Appeals ruled that a new Weinstein trial must take place, citing that “allegations of prior bad acts may not be admitted against them for the sole purpose of establishing their propensity for criminality.”
“That is very interesting, because we've seen these judges in a post-#MeToo environment allow more women to come forward and tell their stories, and essentially, in perhaps the two highest-profile criminal cases of the #MeToo era, those have now been overturned because of this willingness to let women testify,” Belloni explains.
What about Weinstein’s LA trial? With the overturning of the New York conviction, eyes are on the California Supreme Court’s decision following a Los Angeles trial that led to Weinstein being found guilty of rape. “The state court judges do not have lifetime appointments, so you could make the argument that they have been swayed over the past seven to eight years by public opinion on the #MeToo issue and have been more lenient in allowing witnesses because of the culture and what's going on in the world,” Belloni says.
Where does #MeToo go from here? The event leaves questions about the progress of the #MeToo movement. “Does this ruling set back society's reaction? Do we see people now saying, ‘Well, you know, I got #MeToo’d, but you know, this whole thing has been so unfair and overdone.’ I don't know the answer to that question. I certainly hope we don't go backward like that,” Masters says.