The New York state Senate has passed a bill to explicitly allow evidence of prior sexual offenses in sex crimes cases. It's a move to change the legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to overturn his rape conviction. The Senate on Wednesday approved the proposal, sending the bill to the state Assembly.
FILE - Harvey Weinstein appears at Manhattan criminal court for a preliminary hearing on May 1, 2024, in New York . The New York state Senate has passed a bill to explicitly allow evidence of prior sexual offenses in sex crimes cases, a move to change the legal standard Harvey Weinstein used to overturn his rape conviction. The Senate on Wednesday , May 22, 2024, approved the proposal, sending the bill to the state Assembly. ALBANY, N.Y.
in a ruling that found a trial judge unfairly allowed women to testify about assault allegations that weren’t part of the criminal charges against Weinstein.in limited instances, such as to prove a motive or plan, but the rules are determined by existing legal precedent, rather than state law. The bill would make clear that evidence of previous sexual offenses can be heard in sex crimes cases, even if those prior allegations are not directly part of the underlying criminal charges. The proposal would also give judges discretion to not allow such testimony if it would create “undue prejudice” against a defendant.
The Legal Aid Society, which provides free legal representation, has warned that the proposal would confuse jurors by allowing too much outside evidence at trials and would result in unfair convictions. Weinstein has denied the charges against him in New York, which include allegedly raping an aspiring actor and sexually assaulting a production assistant. His 2020 conviction was a major moment in theThe disgraced movie mogul has separately been convicted of rape in California and sentenced to 16 years in prison there. He remains
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