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Danny Masterson, the previous “That 70s Present” star serving a 30-year jail sentence for raping two girls, filed an enchantment that argues his protection lawyer didn’t name witnesses who may have discredited his accusers and pushed again on prosecution claims that Scientology strived to silence them, in response to authorized paperwork obtained by TheWrap.
The petition for habeas corpus filed Sunday additionally says Masterson’s lawyer, Philip Cohen, didn’t “current any of an unparalleled trove of proof” that will have undermined his accusers’ credibility. The submitting says Masterson implored Cohen to name rebuttal witnesses, however he refused, relying as an alternative on cross-examination of prosecution testimony.
Masterson was convicted of two rape expenses in 2023 and is presently housed on the California Males’s Colony in San Luis Obispo. Cohen didn’t instantly reply Monday to a request for remark.
Masterson was accused by three girls of raping them at his Hollywood Hills house round 2003. A 2022 trial resulted in a hung jury on all three counts, however a 2023 retrial resulted in convictions on two, whereas the panel deadlocked on a 3rd depend.
Due to the age of the accusations, a statute of limitations exception required a responsible verdict on a minimum of two of the costs to set off a conviction.
Scientology was much less of an element within the first trial as a result of the decide restricted prosecutors’ means to argue that it performed a job. They got extra leeway within the retrial to argue that the ladies had been forbidden by the church to press expenses towards a high-profile member.
The state referred to as ex-Scientologist Claire Headley as a witness to testify at retrial that church protocols require permission to contain police at the specter of excommunication. Masterson and Scientology legal professionals strongly urged Cohen to name a rebuttal witness who was on the protection’s checklist, however he declined, in response to the petition.
The submitting additionally says there have been a number of witnesses accessible to testify that the 2 accusers whose expenses resulted in conviction had described the sexual encounters as constructive and consensual, however none had been referred to as. It additionally asserts that Cohen didn’t introduce a 2019 civil lawsuit that reveals the accusers had a monetary incentive to achieve a legal conviction.
The petition additional argues that the LAPD’s investigation was biased resulting from shut coordination with anti-Scientologist Leah Remini, who had a monetary stake in selling the allegations, and claims the retrial decide’s rulings persistently favored the prosecution.
“The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the results of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of protection counsel to current exculpatory proof,” Eric Multhaup, Masterson’s appellate lawyer advised TheWrap. “The habeas corpus petition is accompanied by 65 reveals that doc the proof of innocence that might have been offered, however was not. The jury heard solely half the story – the prosecution’s facet. Danny deserves a brand new trial the place the jury can hear his facet as nicely.”
The petition doesn’t checklist any scheduled or upcoming listening to date, however asks the Courtroom of Enchantment to situation an order to remand the case to the Los Angeles Superior Courtroom for an evidentiary listening to earlier than a unique decide.
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