The New York Court of Appeals has annulled the conviction against the former film producer Harvey Weinsten for errors in the 2020 judicial process, which imposed a 23-year prison sentence on him and which marked the birth of the #MeToo movement.

The Court’s ruling, from which there is no appeal, was approved by a slim majority of 4-3 judges, and is based on the fact that the judge improperly called several women who claimed to have been victims of the crime to testify as witnesses. producer, when the accusations they presented They were not part of the facts being judged.

“The remedy for these enormous errors is a new trial”states the ruling, which includes the dissenting opinions of the three judges who voted against in two annexed documents.

Weinstein, 72, is serving two prison sentences in a Mohawk prison (New York state), one of 23 years and the other of 16, in both cases for crimes related to sexual abuse, so today’s annulment does not In principle, it would mean his release, but rather his possible transfer to California to serve the second sentence.

‘The New York Times’ said it had contacted Weinstein’s lawyers, who could not specify if he has already learned of the new ruling.

That first Weistein trial, now annulled, opened the spigot to an American, then global, movement.dubbed #MeToo, and which consisted of public testimonies from women who claimed to have been victims of sexual abuse in the entertainment world and in work environments in general.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has already expressed its displeasure, and in a statement from its spokeswoman, Emily Tuttle, said: “We will do everything in our power to retry the case, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to the survivors of sexual assaults.”