Harvey Weinstein is appealing in Los Angeles after a second conviction, after a jury convicted him of sexual assault and rape and a judge sentenced him to 16 years. Weinstein has hired California-based attorney, Michael Freedman, to work with Jennifer Bonjean, the criminal defense attorney who overturned Bill Cosby’s conviction, and to serve as lead counsel for Weinstein’s West Coast appeal.

Bonjean became known for defending Cosby when he was accused by the #MeToo movement. In addition to defending Cosby on an appeal to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and resulting in his release from prison, Bonjean served as R. Kelly’s lead attorney during a criminal trial in Chicago. She also represented Nxivm sex cult leader Keith Raniere.

Weinstein’s new legal team will also represent him in his civil lawsuit against European model, Jane Doe #1, who publicly identified herself as Evgenia Chernishova after her trial. Her testimony alleging that Weinstein raped and molested her in 2013 led to Weinstein’s conviction in Los Angeles.

In an article written in the media magazine Variety, they quote:

“‘The Bonjean Law Group and Jennifer Bonjean herself understand the issues facing Harvey and knows what is needed; not simply the law, but the environment in which we exist now,’ Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, says to Variety in a statement. ‘With this team, Harvey’s appeal in L.A. will be made in a way that not only demonstrates errors in applications of law and possible bias in meting out so-called justice, but will also expose how the proverbial deck was stacked in advance against Weinstein. In addition to the criminal appeal, the firm will bring the facts together in answers to the civil suit filed by a witness whom Harvey insists was never with him in the hotel or anywhere.’”

Weinstein was returned to New York in early April after completing his trial in Los Angeles. A judge in Los Angeles ordered Weinstein to enforce both sentences in succession. So, if he is serving a full sentence in both jurisdictions, he won’t be free until 2059, when he would be 107 years old.

Weinstein is currently serving his East Coast sentence at Mohawk Correctional Institution in Rome, New York. This facility is a medium security men’s state prison. He has been in LA County Jail since being extradited to the West Coast in July 2021, but was held at Wende Correctional Facility in upstate New York prior to his trial in LA.

His new legal team consists of Freedman of The Freedman Firm, based in Santa Monica, California, and Bonjean and Ashley Cohen of The Bonjean Law Group, based in New York City.