The ruling overturning Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction on April 25 gives the one-time film mogul a chance at a new trial.NEW YORK — The ruling overturning Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction on April 25 gives the one-time film mogul a chance at a new trial and calls into question what evidence prosecutors can use in future sex crime cases.
Such testimony about "prior bad acts" is usually barred by New York's so-called Molineux rule, named for a landmark 1901 court case. The majority of the court found that the testimony by the three women ran afoul of the rule and made the trial unfair.The Molineux rule is not absolute. It holds that prosecutors cannot use such testimony to prove that the defendant has a "propensity" to commit crime, but they may use it as evidence of motive or intent.
The Court of Appeals, however, found that the testimony was simply evidence that he had a propensity to commit rape and sexual assault, not of his motive or intent.Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison following a separate 2022 rape conviction in California, which he is expected to appeal, and the New York ruling has no direct effect on that case.
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