A bill introduced to the New York Assembly will allow prosecutors to use a defendant’s prior sexual assault history to be used as evidence in a sexual assault proceeding, allowing prosecutors to establish a pattern of behavior of a defendant’s “bad acts.”
Sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, who has openly shared her experience as a rape survivor and Democratic State. Sen. Mike Gianaris, the bill was written in direct response to the overturning of Harvey Weinstein’s sex crimes conviction in New York. In a 4-3 ruling, the New York Court of Appeals overturned the Hollywood producer’s charges because the judge allowed women to testify about allegations not included in the case, giving the jury a prejudiced view of Weinstein.
“What that decision exposed is that the law required clarity — nowhere does New York
Read more…
