NY lawmaker warns Harvey Weinstein could be aided by failure to pass bill

It’s looking like state lawmakers will not pass a measure that would have made it easier for prosecutors to convict people accused of sex crimes.

The legislation passed the Senate with just four dissenting votes last week. But now, its sponsor in the Assembly says she doesn’t think the legislation will cross the finish line this year. The measure underscores a dilemma for the Democratic-led Legislature: balancing the rights of sexual assault victims with those of people accused of crimes.

This type of evidence is already technically allowed in New York, but only if it meets certain criteria, like proving what someone’s motive was. Defense attorneys say those guardrails are necessary to prevent jurors from convicting someone of a crime merely because they seem like a bad person who is likely to commit a crime.

Gianaris noted that the federal system and 16 other states already have similar rules that allow evidence of other sexual assaults to be admitted in court. But opponents, including defense attorneys, have warned of potential violations of the rights of people accused of crimes. They said the legislation threatens a basic tenet of the legal system: that defendants should be tried based on the evidence against them in a particular case.

Even some Republicans who supported the bill in the Senate expressed hesitations before casting their votes. Sen. Anthony Palumbo, a former prosecutor who represents parts of Suffolk County, said on the Senate floor last week that he “unequivocally” supported the bill's intent but thinks the language goes too far. He said he feared the measure, if passed into law, would face legal challenges and be overturned.

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