Star witness in Harvey Weinstein trial says she’d consider testifying after overturned conviction: ‘This isn’t just about me’

By Elizabeth Wagmeister and Jean Casarez, CNN

(CNN) — The star witness in Harvey Weinstein’s historic rape trial says she would consider testifying in a new trial, after the former Hollywood producer’s New York conviction was overturned by the New York Court of Appeals this week.

Mimi Haley, a former production assistant on The Weinstein Company’s “Project Runway,” gave graphic testimony in the 2020 criminal trial that Weinstein had pinned her down and forced her into a sex act in 2006. After a jury found him guilty of a first-degree criminal sexual act against Haley and rape in the third degree of another key witness, Jessica Mann, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years – 20 of those years connected to the charge on which Haley testified. Weinstein has maintained his innocence and denied any nonconsensual sexual activity.

“We’re all in a bit of shock,” Haley said on Friday during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred after the conviction was overturned. “I felt sick to my stomach and my heart sank.” She also said in the previous 24 hours, she had been in touch with at least one other woman who testified in the landmark trial.

On Thursday, the New York Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein’s conviction and ordered a new trial, stating that the use of “prior bad acts” witnesses should not have been allowed. And while the court took issue with what the judge permitted in the trial, the stunning decision to overturn the conviction is seen as a setback for the #MeToo movement, after Weinstein’s fall from grace ignited a cultural revolution for sexual assault victims.

A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said “we will do everything in our power” to retry the case. Should there be a new trial, Haley said she is weighing whether to testify again. She noted the personal toll of enduring a high-profile sexual assault trial, but said she believes the case is strong enough without the “prior bad acts” witnesses, who would not be allowed to testify in the new trial.

“The truth doesn’t change, the evidence is still there, so I don’t see why it would be another result,” Haley said.

Haley told reporters on the virtual press conference that the preparation for a trial of this nature is a “very, very lengthy process,” one that is “a lot longer than the public sees.” Speaking of the sacrifice victims make to testify in a high-profile criminal trial, she shared her personal experience, stating that she was “living in fear for years” and was harassed by the public.

“It involves so much re-traumatizing and re-hashing and re-living over and over again,” Haley said. “I definitely don’t want to go through that again.”

She continued, “This isn’t just about me. It’s a really important case. It’s in the public eye, which is difficult for me personally, but is important for the collective. Those are the reasons I would still do it again. I’m not just doing it for myself.”

Haley and Allred said they believe “prior bad acts” witnesses are relevant to sex crimes cases, and should be permissible in court, although it is at a judge’s discretion.

“I personally think it’s important information to know about someone’s character and their pattern,” Haley said.

Allred called for new legislation in the state of New York to clarify when and how “prior bad acts” victims are allowed to be utilized. In Weinstein’s cases, prosecutors asked to use these witnesses in order to help establish a pattern of Weinstein’s behavior. But the state’s highest court disagreed, ruling in his successful appeal by a 4-3 vote this week that “prior bad acts” witnesses should not have been allowed because it “was unnecessary to establish defendant’s intent and served only to establish defendant’s propensity to commit the crimes charged.”

In the state of California – where Weinstein was convicted in 2022 of rape and sexual assault – “prior bad acts” witnesses are allowed to be used to show things such as motive, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, absence of mistake or accident, or whether a defendant for an unlawful sexual act did not reasonably and in good faith believe that the victim consented. Allred said she would like to see the state of New York adopt similar laws.

“I think it’s important for the New York legislature to pass a specific statute in New York, which more clearly defines the admission of prior bad acts witnesses and their testimony in New York, and is more protective of victims’ rights in sex crimes criminal cases,” Allred said.

Allred does not believe that Weinstein’s New York appeal will impact the case in Los Angeles, where Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years. But she did express concern for how the court’s decision may affect future victims from coming forward.

“I am concerned that it will impact the decision of survivors perhaps to come forward thinking that it may not matter if they do because their testimony may not be admissible at trial,” Allred said.

Weinstein is expected to appear in Manhattan Supreme Court for his first court appearance since his conviction was overturned on Wednesday, May 1, according to a spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

“At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, our Special Victims Division fights each and every day to center survivors, uplift their voices, and seek justice for these horrific crimes,” a spokesperson for the D.A.’s office said. “Our mission is to center survivors’ experiences and wellbeing in every decision we make, which we will do as we approach the next steps in this case.”

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