Nassau Standard

Albany, NY - New York State Senators Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Anthony Palumbo, Steve Rhoads, and members of the Senate Republican Conference introduced legislation today aimed at addressing loopholes that led to the Court of Appeals overturning Harvey Weinstein's conviction.

On April 25th, the New York State Court of Appeals overturned Weinstein's conviction in a 4-3 decision. This decision followed Chief Justice Rowan Wilson's policy allowing him to replace recused Judges Shirley Troutman and Caitlin Halligan with Betsy Barros and Christine Clark, who sided with Wilson.

Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick commented on the decision: “After the Senate majority scuddled the nomination of a judge who they did not consider progressive enough, the National Organization for Women - NYC, along with other advocates, warned us of the risks posed to survivors of sexual assault that could come from the majority’s preferred, progressive nominee. Chief Judge Wilson had penned the decision to overturn a rape conviction, in an opinion that similarly shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the challenging process women often go through to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable.”

In response to this outcome, Senate Republicans introduced two bills:

1. Preventing the Chief Justice from selecting replacement judges when a judge recuses themselves by requiring replacements to be chosen on a rotating basis in order of seniority (S.9601).

2. Allowing evidence of similar crimes in prior sexual offense cases to be admitted by codifying the "Molineux Rule," which permits relevant evidence that can help prove the defendant’s motive and intent (S.9445).