Danny Masterson, who is serving prison time after he was convicted of raping two women in 2023, filed a petition for a new trial, blaming his lawyer for putting on a poor defense and landing him in prison.
Masterson, one of the stars of the hit sitcom “That ’70s Show,” is serving a 30-year prison sentence in California over the two convictions. The jury deadlocked on a third rape count.
The petition for writ of habeas corpus, filed Monday in California, argues that Masterson’s lawyer did not perform proper due diligence in preparing for the case, resulting in a lack of adequate witnesses and information that resulted in convictions on two counts.
“The unfairness of the second Masterson trial was the result of prosecutorial misconduct, judicial bias, and the failure of defense counsel to present exculpatory evidence,” Masterson’s new attorney, Eric Multhaup, said in a statement. “The jury heard only half the story — the prosecution’s side. Danny deserves a new trial where the jury can hear his side as well.”
The petition said that Masterson’s initial lead counsel was Shawn Holley but that she had to step away from the case. After the court denied a request to delay the trial, assistant Philip Cohen stepped in, and he is whom Masterson blames for his convictions, according to the petition.
Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Specifically, the petition alleges that Masterson’s legal team failed to present critical exculpatory witnesses who described their sexual encounters with him as consensual.
Philip Cohen, attorney for Danny Masterson, arrives for closing arguments in Masterson’s second trial in 2023.Chris Pizzello / AP file
One of the victims, the petition says, told friends she enjoyed her time with Masterson. Friends of another victim said she told them she was engaging in a weekslong consensual fling with Masterson, according to the petition. None of the victims’ friends were interviewed by Cohen or were used in the defense case, the petition said.
The petition says that investigators presented Cohen with such evidence but that he refused the information and chose to proceed with his own methods. Cohen spoke to only two people on a comprehensive list of witnesses, the petition says.
The petition says that when the jury was hung in the first trial, leading to a retrial, Masterson asked his lawyer to again interview more witnesses to present.
Even though Masterson “implored Cohen to present a defense case, Cohen did not interview any potential defense witnesses prior to the retrial; did not have any witnesses under subpoena; and did not present any defense,” the petition says.
In addition, Cohen did not push back against what the petition said was the prosecution’s heavy focus on Masterson’s involvement in the Church of Scientology, which Masterson claims turned the jury against him.
The prosecution claimed the two victims were discouraged from reporting Masterson, a higher-ranking member of the church, and called a witness who explained the church requires special permission if its members want to go to police about other members.
Instead of calling a witness to rebut that claim and face the argument head-on, the petition says, Cohen tried to brush off his client’s religion.
Masterson’s petition also cites a pattern of judicial bias during the trial. It points to a number of rulings and comments he claims favored the prosecution.
The petition asks the court to give cause to an appeal Masterson’s lawyers filed last year.
