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Weinstein, 69, was sentenced in March 2020 by
Justice James Burke of Manhattan criminal court to 23 years in
prison for assaulting former production assistant Mimi Haleyi
and raping former aspiring actress Jessica Mann.
Weinstein has denied any nonconsensual sexual encounters.
His conviction was seen as a watershed moment in the #MeToo
movement against sexual abuse and harassment.
Weinstein makes seven arguments in his bid to overturn his
conviction, from seating a juror that Weinstein's lawyers
accused of being grossly unqualified to an unduly harsh
sentence.
His lawyers also argue he was denied a presumption of innocence
when Burke allowed the jury to hear testimony from three women
who alleged Weinstein assaulted them even though their
accusations did not result in a criminal charge.
The three women described for the jury what prosecutors
characterized as Weinstein's signature pattern of behavior:
luring women to hotel rooms or his apartment to discuss film
roles, then attacking them.
Weinstein's lawyers had asked Burke during the trial to bar two
of the three from testifying.
Jurors were instructed that the three women's testimony could
only be used as evidence of Weinstein's intent, not propensity
to commit sexual assault.
Weinstein said the third-degree rape charge should be dismissed
because the alleged misconduct occurred too long ago, and a new
trial should concern a single count of first-degree criminal
sexual act.
Even if his conviction were overturned, Weinstein still faces
charges including forcible rape in Los Angeles involving five
alleged victims from 2004 to 2013. Weinstein faces up to 140
years in prison if convicted in that case.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware, additional
reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Howard
Goller)
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