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On Tuesday, prosecutors began their case against Harvey Weinstein, who is on trial in Manhattan for rape—for the third time. This third trial is only happening because Weinstein’s previous rape conviction in New York was overturned due to outdated rules of evidence. The start of Weinstein’s latest trial is, among other things, a clarifying moment about how things should change in the world of legal procedure to bring powerful abusers to justice: New York and other states must change their rules of evidence to make sure serial rapists like Weinstein aren’t shielded from accountability.

In May 2025, actress Jessica Mann sat in front of a Manhattan jury and told them, through tears, exactly how Harvey Weinstein raped her. Some jurors had doubts—the rape charge ended in a hung jury. (Weinstein was convicted on a lesser charge relating to a different victim.) But Mann should never have been in court in May 2025, much less preparing to face her rapist again in April 2026. In February 2020, Mann told the same story to a different Manhattan jury. They believed her, and Weinstein was convicted of rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison. What went wrong?

Just four years after that conviction, New York’s highest court overturned........

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