Danny Masterson has been in jail since December 2023, serving the primary of a 30-year sentence after being convicted of two counts of rape. Nevertheless, his battle hasn’t ended, as his authorized workforce continues to attempt to clear the That ‘70s Present star’s identify after a number of sexual assault accusations. Alleging that his 2023 trial was “rife with inaccurate judicial rulings,” Masterson’s lawyer has filed to enchantment the convictions.
On December 18, Danny Masterson’s lawyer Cliff Gardner shared a 246-page opening transient, US Weekly studies, that cites quite a few errors which will have violated Masterson’s “rights to confrontation and a good trial.” The enchantment is reportedly based mostly on “two elementary flaws” within the actor’s convictions. In response to the paperwork:
The trial was rife with inaccurate judicial rulings that skewed the jury’s view of the proof in opposition to him. [Secondly,] there was a shocking quantity of exculpatory proof which was by no means offered to the jury.
The protection’s complaints about Danny Masterson’s trial started instantly after his conviction in September 2023, as his legal professional mentioned on the time that a few of “the highest appellate attorneys within the nation” had already “recognized quite a few vital evidentiary and constitutional points.”
Cliff Gardner echoed these sentiments and continued to indicate confidence in getting the convictions overturned. The lawyer acknowledged:
The enchantment represents just one a part of Danny’s problem to his convictions. Danny’s habeas lawyer will likely be following up on the opening transient with a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus documenting extra defects within the trial course of. Keep tuned as we work towards Danny’s full exoneration.
The actor, whose profession successfully ended when he was fired from The Ranch in 2017 following the rape accusations, was sentenced to 30 years in jail and isn’t eligible for parole till June 2042, when the actor — who turned 48 in jail this 12 months — will likely be 66 years previous.
The sentencing got here after a yearslong investigation into allegations from 5 ladies that Danny Masterson assaulted them within the early 2000s. The actor has maintained his innocence, and his That ‘70s Present co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have confronted backlash for writing character letters in assist of Masterson forward of his sentencing.
The Males at Work actor was first dropped at trial in October 2022. Proceedings lasted almost a month earlier than jury deliberations started, however that resulted in a mistrial when two jurors examined constructive for COVID and the pool members remained deadlocked. The second trial started in April 2023 and featured harrowing testimony from Danny Masterson’s accusers.
In January 2024, a decide denied a request to launch the actor on bond as his authorized workforce labored on his enchantment. She mentioned that with “no spouse to go residence to” after Bijou Phillips filed for divorce, coupled with the size of his sentence, Danny Masterson had “each incentive to flee and little purpose to return to state jail to serve out the rest of his prolonged sentence ought to his enchantment be unsuccessful.” Now that paperwork has been filed, we’ll must see if the protection’s findings change the trial’s consequence in any method.