Harvey Weinstein Appeals Against Rape Conviction, Says Sentence Is ‘Unduly Harsh’

Harvey Weinstein wants the court to cut him some slack.

The disgraced producer has filed an appeal over his 2020 third-degree rape and criminal sexual act in the first-degree convictions, Complex is reporting.

“Mr. Weinstein was denied his constitutional right to be tried by a fair and impartial jury when the court refused to dismiss a juror for cause after his peremptory challenges were exhausted and permitted her to remain on the jury, even after it was well-established that she lied about matters material to her fitness to serve,” the filing, shared in full by Deadline on Monday afternoon, states.

Also, his legal team claims the conviction for third-degree rape “should be reversed” with the charge dismissed, and argued that his total sentence (23 years) was “unduly harsh and excessive.”

Recall that in March of last year, Weinstein—the co-founder of Miramax—was sentenced to 23 years in prison (20 years for the criminal sexual act and three years for third-degree rape). The disgraced film industry figure, now 69 years old, was found guilty of assaulting ex-production assistant Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and of raping actress Jessica Mann in 2013.

The court’s response to Weinstein’s appeal from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is expected to be made public “in the next week.”