The disgraced producer's legal team argues he was tried in 'the atmosphere of which was permeated with negative publicity about him and his alleged relationships with women.'

AceShowbiz - Harvey Weinstein is appealing the multiple sex crimes that landed him behind bars over a year ago. A New York jury found him guilty in early 2020, but now his legal team insists the disgraced producer's trial was tainted by media coverage.

"Mr. Weinstein was tried in a venue, the atmosphere of which was permeated with negative publicity about him and his alleged relationships with women," the appellate brief, filed on Monday, April 5, reads. "Mr. Weinstein had a right to a fair trial by an impartial jury..."

"The trial court should have exercised the utmost vigilance in protecting this most important right of the defendant. Instead, the trial court was cavalier in its obligation to safeguard this right and the consequences for Mr. Weinstein were disastrous."

"Mr. Weinstein was tried not only for alleged criminal acts charged in the indictment, but also for his alleged propensity to behave in ways that evinced licentiousness in his relationships with women."

The movie mogul is currently serving time at the maximum security Wende Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York.

His lawyers are demanding the dismissal of a third-degree rape charge and a new trial based on the single count of first-degree criminal sexual act linked to Miriam Haley, who claimed Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 2006.

"With a year behind us and emotions subsided, the transcript of the case confirms what we always believed: that Mr. Weinstein did not receive a fair trial," defense attorney Arthur Aidala told Deadline. "We will argue that the trial judge disregarded well accepted and fundamental principles of New York law and violated Mr. Weinstein's constitutional rights."

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