Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction was overturned yesterday by the New York Court of Appeals, reversing a case that helped launch the #MeToo movement. The decision means Manhattan DA’s office will once again have to try the serial predator, and his accusers may have to take the stand again. The court ruled that the original judge had improperly allowed women to testify about allegations that Weinstein wasn’t on trial for. In all more than 80 women have accused producer him of sexual assault.
He will remain in prison, because he also faces a 16-year sentence on a separate case in California, where he was convicted in 2022 of rape and other sexual misconduct.
Judge Madeline Singas, one of the dissenters at the Court of Appeal, said that with the decision, “this Court continues to thwart the steady gains survivors of sexual violence have fought for in our criminal justice system”.
Douglas Wigdor, a lawyer who represented eight of Weinstein’s accusers, said the decision was “tragic” and “a major step back”. “Courts routinely admit evidence of other uncharged acts… the jury was instructed on the relevance of this testimony.” Lindsay Goldbrum, who represented six Harvey Weinstein victims, said the appeal court’s criticism of the use of witnesses not directly connected to the charges was a “leap backwards” and damaging to future cases. She said that the witnesses had “nothing to gain personally from participating in the trial. Their only goal was to give a voice to dozens of other women who suffered so much”.
Weinstein, born 19 March 1952 9.45pm New York, despite his jubilation at the result is not cheerful moving forward with tr Neptune conjunct his Pisces Sun from this May off and on into 2025, followed by tr Saturn conjunct his Sun in 2025. And his ruthless, domineering Mars square Pluto in its Solar Arc Directions is still catching tr Pluto hard aspects into 2025.
This month’s Aries Solar Eclipse was conjunct his Jupiter and opposition his Neptune – for hope and disappointment.
Actress Ashley Judd, one of the first to speak out against Weinstein, has been voicing her disquiet about the court decision. Her Saturn North Node in Aries caught this month’s Solar Eclipse which can bring discouraging experiences with a sense of weight and renewed responsibilities. Tr Pluto is still square her Aries Sun through this year for more challenges. She also has her Jupiter Neptune in hard aspect catching ups and downs through June and on.
The law is an exceptionally blunt instrument when it comes to sexual offences and the calibre and biases of senior judiciary in charge of decisions leaves a great deal to be desired.
I really do not wish to see HW’s repulsive face endlessly back in the newsprints.
An astro-intrigue. His Mars in Scorpio went retrograde by progression when he was five and remains so throughout his life – which clearly did his career ambitions no harm at all since he had a glittering succession of cinema triumphs. His Mars in his 1st squares a control-freak, bullying Pluto conjunct his Midheaven – he really does have an unpleasant chart which reflects his tendencies.
Creep
Thanks Marjorie. Neptune transiting Weinstein’s Sun has cinematic vibes too. He’ll be moved to California now, closer to home ground in a way. An early successful example of his work in films is ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’. Ironic indeed.
The deceptive transiting Mars/Neptune/Scheat conjunction on his Pisces Sun approaches rapidly. Sun is also natally aligned with fixed star Scheat in the constellation Pegasus, winged horse of Greek myth. For many years he enjoyed the ability to ‘rise above’ difficulties, but eventually came crashing down to earth as we’ve seen – very descriptive of some of this fixed star’s meaning.
Curious to see that Weinstein is widely alleged to have used private surveillance from a company called Black Cube. This outfit used spyware in their work – brand name Pegasus. There’s a thought-provoking article in Byline Times, 27 January 2020. There’s also a Wiki on Pegasus spyware, and on a major investigation into its use:
“The Pegasus Project is an international investigative journalism initiative that revealed governments’ espionage on journalists, opposition politicians, activists, business people and others using the private Pegasus spyware” Wikipedia, Pegasus Project
When the mists of Neptune clear, more may emerge. Meanwhile, this is a very depressing and disappointing moment.