The New York State Court of Appeals has granted an appeal to disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and will hear arguments on whether he deserves a new trial.

Weinstein was convicted of rape in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison, as CrimeOnline previously reported. In June, an appeals court rejected arguments that the judge made several errors that tilted the trial to the prosecution. The five judge panel unanimously upheld the trial court’s ruling.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore made the decision to grant the appeal before the entire State Court of Appeals, WNBC reported. The court could uphold the conviction, reverse it and order a new trial, or uphold some charges and vacate others.

“We are grateful that Chief Judge DiFiore acknowledged the unique legal issues in this case and we are hopeful the entire court will find that Mr. Weinstein did not receive a fair trial and reverse his conviction,” Arthur Aidala, Weinstein’s attorney, said.

Weinstein, who insists he is innocent. said he was “so grateful to my attorneys for working hard and smart on this.”

The Manhattan district attorney declined comment about the decision, but Doug Wigdor, who represented some of Weinstein’s victims at trial, said he was “a desperate man.” Wigdor added that the court will “ultimately reject his appeal and affirm the appeal court’s well reasoned decision affirming the trial court’s conviction and sentence.”

Weinstein is currently in jail in Los Angeles, where he awaits trial on similar charges. That trial is set to begin on October 7.

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[Featured image: FILE – Harvey Weinstein in 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)]