A New York lawmaker proposed new legislation after a 2020 rape conviction was overturned for disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled 4-3 in April that Weinstein's trial erroneously "admitted testimony of uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes."
Weinstein had been convicted of criminal sexual act and rape against two women. The judge ruled the evidence could be admitted until the Molineux Rule, which allows prosecutors to bring in proof of a defendant's prior bad acts or crimes to establish motive, intent, or other relevant issues. Weinstein's attorneys argued it unfairly influenced the trial.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the case would be retried. Weinstein, 72, had been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in Rome, New York. Weinstein was also sentenced to 16 years after his separate rape trial in California. The two sentences cannot be served concurrently.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, a Democrat who represents portions of Westchester County, is proposing legislation that would codify the Federal Rules of Evidence under New York State law.
Under Paulin's legislation, the court may admit evidence that the defendant committed any other past sexual assault. Sixteen other states have adopted similar legislation.
"The stunning reversal of Harvey Weinstein's conviction shows a failure by New York's highest court to recognize the relevance of an abuser's pattern of serial sexual assault," Paulin said. "It is time for New York to do what 16 other states and the Federal Rules of Evidence have done and allow juries to hear evidence of a sexual abuser's pattern of similar conduct."
Weinstein co-founded the Miramax film studio, whose hit movies included "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction." His own eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
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