Harvey Weinstein has filed an appeal seeking a new trial and accusing the judge of not ensuring he received a fair trial, according to multiplereports.
Weinstein was found guilty in February 2020 of two felony sex crimes and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
In the 166-page appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers argue for a new trial on several points. They argue testimony from four women should not have been allowed in trial because their allegations did not result in criminal charges.
The lawyers also argue one of the jurors did not initially tell the court she had written a novel involving “sexual predation of older men.” And that once the court learned, the judge did not excuse the juror. The Washington Post reports Weinstein’s lawyers argue by not dismissing the juror, the judge deprived the filmmaker of his right to a fair trial.
The juror was questioned about the book, which is still unpublished, during court proceedings and said the book’s subject matter did not relate to the trial, noting the conduct in her story is “consensual.”
“Juror No. 11’s fixation with matters of consent and predatory older men and her lack of candor about it, raises troubling questions about whether she prejudged Mr. Weinstein’s guilt and whether she had a personal agenda to see him convicted,” Weinstein attorneys Barry Kamins, John Leventhal and Diana Fabi Samson wrote in the appeal brief.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office will defend the conviction when the appeal is heard.
“We will respond in our brief to the court,” spokesman Danny Frost told the Post.