This story contains discussions of rape or sexual assault that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
Danny Masterson is seeking to overturn his 2023 conviction, with his attorney arguing that the trial court violated his First Amendment rights while handling evidence about Scientology.
The former That ’70s Show actor, 50, is serving a 30-years-to-life prison sentence after a jury convicted him of raping two women. Jurors could not reach a verdict on a rape charge involving a third woman. All three accusers were members of the Church of Scientology.
Masterson’s appeal argues the judge’s interpretation of Scientology scripture violated religious rights
According to Tony Ortega’s The Underground Bunker Substack, Masterson’s attorney, Cliff Gardner, raised the religious-rights issue in a 26-page filing connected to his appeal.
“The judge announced that she would personally interpret a portion of Scientology scripture herself,” Gardner wrote.
Gardner argued that the court should not have determined the meaning of the church’s teachings or accepted the prosecution’s interpretation as reported by RadarOnline.com.
“The trial court’s decision to interpret scripture on its own, to reject the Church’s own interpretation and adopt the prosecution’s version of scripture, and to permit the prosecution to present evidence that its partisan version was correct violated the First Amendment,” he wrote.
The attorney also disputed the court’s instructions on how jurors should evaluate Scientology evidence. Gardner said the court allowed them, apart from testimony from Jane Doe 3’s husband, to consider the Scientology evidence as true.
According to Gardner, that could lead jurors to accept claims that Scientology did not recognize rape or sexual assault, stopped members from reporting other members to authorities and punished those who reported crimes. He also cited claims that members had to follow Scientology rules instead of U.S. law and that the church prevented members from taking medicine.
Gardner further accused the judge of making hostile comments about Masterson’s faith. He objected to the judge referring to the charged rapes as “an organizational crime,” arguing that the wording implied involvement by the Church of Scientology.
Masterson’s first trial ended in a mistrial. A second jury later convicted him on two rape charges while remaining deadlocked on the third.
He has continued to maintain that the sexual encounters were consensual. His former wife, Bijou Phillips, filed for divorce shortly after his sentencing.
TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT ARGUMENT IN DANNY MASTERSON’S APPEAL?
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
Originally reported by Ashna Gaur for Reality Tea
