Harvey Weinstein is moving forward in his quest to overturn his rape and criminal sexual act conviction.
On Aug. 19, Chief Judge Janet DiFiore of the New York State Court of Appeals granted the disgraced producer a leave to appeal his highly publicized case, according to an order obtained by E! News. A court spokesperson told NBC News that oral arguments are expected to begin next year and will be made before the entire court.
The decision means a court will hear arguments from both Weinstein's legal team and state prosecutors and choose to either to uphold his conviction or reverse the previous ruling, vacate or modify his convicted charges and order a new trial.
"I am innocent of these charges, and I am so grateful to my attorneys for working hard and smart of this," Weinstein, 70, said in a statement provided to E! News. "Their hard work will help me prove my innocence in the end. I look forward to this opportunity to be heard by the New York Court of Appeals."
His rep Juda Engelmayer added, "We are hopeful and grateful for this rare opportunity, and believe that granting Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers leave to make the appeal to the N.Y. Court of Appeals demonstrates that there is, in fact, merit to the appeal. There was plenty wrong with the trial and conviction and Harvey's attorneys will do what is needed to prove his innocence of the charges."
However, Doug Wigdor, an attorney who represented Weinstein's accusers during the trial, believes the conviction will be upheld. He told E! in a statement, "Weinstein is a desperate man but we are confident that New York's highest court will ultimately reject his appeal and affirm the appeal court's well-reasoned decision affirming the trial court's conviction and sentence."
In February 2020, Weinstein was found guilty of rape in the third degree and criminal sexual act in the first degree after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct. Amid his 23-year prison sentence, Weinstein has maintained he was denied his constitutional right to receive a fair trial with an impartial jury.
In a filing obtained by E! News in April 2021, attorneys for Weinstein claimed that he was tried in a "highly volatile and prejudicial atmosphere."
"Mr. Weinstein was tried in a venue, the atmosphere of which was permeated with negative publicity about him and his alleged relationships with women," the documents read. "Once the trial commenced, it was clear that the jury would be facing a daily barrage of improper influence and outright intimidation."
Last summer, the former film mogul was extradited to Los Angeles, where he is facing sex crime charges stemming from separate incidents in California spanning between 2004 and 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him, including forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by use of force.
His trial in Los Angeles has been scheduled for October.
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)