Appeals Court Upholds Danny Masterson’s Convictions

A California appeals court has affirmed Danny Masterson’s rape convictions and 30-years-to-life sentence, rejecting his arguments that trial rulings, including the admission of evidence about Scientology, denied him a fair trial. A three-judge panel of the Second District Court of Appeal upheld the judgment in an 89-page opinion. Masterson, the former actor on That ’70s Show, had challenged the handling of evidence and testimony, the trial judge’s impartiality, and the delay in prosecuting one of the charges. The panel rejected his appellate arguments and a separate petition for habeas corpus alleging ineffective defense representation. The court said Scientology-related evidence was relevant to understanding the women’s behavior and interactions with Masterson, including delays in reporting the assaults to law enforcement and reactions from family and friends. It also rejected the claim that the trial judge had shown hostility toward Scientology, finding that her statements, viewed in context, showed no bias or departure from neutrality. The panel said the jury was not asked to decide the truth of Scientology’s beliefs. Masterson was convicted in 2023 of two counts of rape by...