Danny Masterson is embarking on a new legal battle.
Over a year after the That ‘70s Show star was found guilty of two counts of rape in May 2023, and later sentenced to 30 years to life for the crime in September of the same year, he has filed an appeal.
In a 246-page brief filed by Masteron’s attorney Cliff Gardner, obtained by US Weekly and reviewed by E! News, the actor alleged that his previous court case—which took place over a period of two weeks in May 2023, after an initial mistrial in December 2022—“violated” his rights for a fair trial.
Masterson’s attorney argued in the document that because the witnesses in the trial—who were victims of Masterson’s sexual assault—had also filed civil suits against the actor, they had a “financial motive to ensure Mr. Masterson was convicted of rape.”
The documents further argued that the trial violated federal law for going against Masterson’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights—for infringing on the 48-year-old’s right to due process by “erroneously” excluding evidence.