Harvey Weinstein and his legal team are “very optimistic” that the overturning of his New York sex crime conviction will strengthen his appeal over his Los Angeles rape conviction, his lawyer told The Post.
Jennifer Bonjean, one of attorneys representing the disgraced Hollywood mogul, claimed that Weinstein did not get a fair trial in the Los Angeles case in 2023 because the jury believed he was fairly convicted in New York when he was sentenced to 23 years in New York 2020.
With the New York case overturned on Thursday, Bonjean said her team is considering making a new plea to review the California conviction.
“That jury was under the assumption that Mr. Weinstein had been fairly convicted in New York, and that didn’t turn out to be true,” Bonjean told The Post. “So I’m very optimistic about the California case.”
The Los Angeles conviction saw Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in prison in February 2023 for raping an Italian model, who was identified as Jane Doe, at a film festival in 2013.
LA Judge Lisa Lench later denied Weinstein’s request for a new trial as the former Hollywood producer maintained his innocence.
Bonjean slammed the trial as “blasphemously unfair,” claiming the prosecution also relied on “bad act evidence,” similar to the New York trial which saw three women testify before the jury with allegations that weren’t connected to the case being tried.
In a 4-3 ruling, the New York State Court of Appeals found that Manhattan Judge James Burke erred when he made that ruling.
Bonjean touted the New York decision as “the right thing,” adding that it was important that everyone, no matter who they are, receive a fair trial.
“There is no Harvey Weinstein exception to that rule,” she said.
Bonjean and her team have until May 20 to file an appeal brief laying out their arguments over the Los Angeles case.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The post EXCLUSIVE: Weinstein to use NY ruling to boost his appeal in California conviction: lawyer appeared first on New York Post.
