Harvey Weinstein's lawyers have praised the reversal of Bill Cosby's conviction, calling it "correct decision" and have said that the decision has raised hopes about their own client who too is behind the bars and facing multiple allegations of sexual assaults. The court's decision on Wednesday to acquit Cosby has now raised questions in the minds of many that Weinstein too may soon walk free.
Cosby, 83, was released from prison after the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania overturned his 2018 sexual assault conviction. He has served more than two years of a three-to-10-year sentence after being found guilty of drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004.
Ray of Hope
Cosby became the first celebrity to be tried and convicted for sexual assault and rape in the #MeToo era. But the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania overturned the conviction Wednesday, ruling that an agreement with a previous prosecutor prevented Cosby from being charged in the case.
The decision was immediately cheered by Weinstein's lawyers who didn't hesitate mentioning that they now see a ray of hope in their client's case too. Weinstein, 69, a once-powerful Hollywood figure, similar to Cosby case helped fuel the #MeToo movement in 2017 after multiple women accused him of sexually exploiting them and even drugging and raping them over the years.
Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison after a New York jury found him guilty of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape in February 2020.
His lawyers are now seeking a similar result in New York, where they're currently appealing his 2020 rape conviction. "This decision also reaffirms our confidence that the Appellate Division in New York will reach the similarly correct decision in Harvey Weinstein's appeal, considering the abundance of issues that cry out for a reversal," the lawyers added on Wednesday.
"In reversing the conviction of Bill Cosby, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has demonstrated, once again, that no matter who a defendant may be and no matter the nature of the crime, courts can be relied upon to follow the law and come to the correct decision," Weinstein's lawyers told Fox News.
Last Hope for Weinstein
Weinstein's legal counsel is demanding a new trial more than a year after his rape conviction in New York. In a brief filed in April, they argued the #MeToo prosecution that put him behind bars was buoyed by improper rulings from a judge who was "cavalier" in protecting the disgraced movie mogul's right to a fair trial.
Both Cosby and Weinstein were accused of non-consensual sex by multiple women. More than 80 women came forward to accuse Weinstein, while there were at least 60 in Cosby's case. Weinstein is set to be extradited to Los Angeles County next month to face nearly a dozen sex-crime charges there.
His extradition was halted after he contracted coronavirus and since has been under observation.
Many now believe that the ruling in favor of Cosby could now influence the judged in Weinstein's case and he might be the next to walk out free. However, Michelle Simpson Tuegel, a Dallas-based trial attorney who represented multiple gymnasts abused by former Olympic doctor Larry Nassar, told USA Today that the Cosby decision "doesn't set any binding precedents because New York and Pennsylvania are two different states" with "different policies and elected officials."
