The New York appeals court said in a written opinion Thursday that the judge in Weinstein's 2020 case, James Burke, admitted testimony from women with allegations that were not a part of the case − known as Molineux witnesses − but rather "irrelevant, prejudicial, and untested allegations of prior bad acts."
This "error" was exacerbated when the judge ruled that the former Hollywood producer could be cross-examined regarding these allegations and others, which depicted Weinstein in a "prejudicial light."
"Under our system of justice, the accused has a right to be held to account only for the crime charged and, thus, allegations of prior bad acts may not be admitted against them for the sole purpose of establishing" a tendency for criminal acts, the court's majority opinion states.