Danny Masterson Appeal Fails as Court Upholds Sentence

The Danny Masterson appeal ended in defeat for the former television actor on Tuesday, when a California appeals court upheld his rape convictions and left his prison sentence in place. A three judge panel rejected each argument Masterson raised against his trials, according to TheWrap, which obtained the ruling. The decision means Masterson will continue serving a sentence of thirty years to life, according to TheWrap.

Masterson, known for roles on That 70s Show and The Ranch, was convicted in a retrial in 2023 of raping two women at his Hollywood Hills home in 2003, according to TheWrap. A first trial in 2022 ended with a hung jury on all three counts, according to TheWrap. Jurors in the retrial deadlocked on a third count, according to TheWrap. Masterson was arrested in 2020 and sentenced in September of the conviction year, according to mxdwn, which cited Deadline.

The Scientology argument at the center

Much of the Danny Masterson appeal turned on evidence about the Church of Scientology, according to mxdwn, which cited Deadline. Masterson's lawyers argued that Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo made remarks and rulings about the church that infringed his First Amendment rights, according to mxdwn. The lawyers argued that material about Scientology unfairly influenced the jury, according to mxdwn.

The appeals panel disagreed, according to mxdwn, which cited Deadline. The panel found no animus or departure from neutrality regarding Scientology in the judge's statements, according to mxdwn. The panel also ruled that jurors were never asked to decide whether church doctrine was true, according to mxdwn. The judges concluded that admission of Scientology evidence did not violate the First Amendment and was not an abuse of the trial court's discretion, according to mxdwn.

Prosecutors used the Scientology evidence to explain why the women delayed reporting the incidents or struggled to describe them as rape at the time, according to mxdwn, which cited Deadline. The women were members of the church when the assaults occurred and later left the church, according to mxdwn. Both testified that church officials discouraged them from reporting the incidents to police and warned they could face expulsion, according to mxdwn.

What happens next for Masterson

The Danny Masterson appeal also raised other claims, and the panel rejected those as well, according to TheWrap. The panel rejected arguments about the statute of limitations and evidentiary rulings, according to TheWrap. The panel also rejected a separate habeas corpus petition arguing that Masterson received an inadequate defense, according to TheWrap. The judges determined that the alleged errors did not individually or collectively deprive Masterson of a fair trial, according to mxdwn.

In the Danny Masterson appeal, Masterson's lawyer Cliff Gardner argued in detail about changes in the accusers' accounts over time, according to TheWrap. Gardner suggested that the witnesses tailored their accounts knowing that a criminal conviction could open long expired limitations periods for financial claims, according to TheWrap. Gardner also pointed to protracted jury deliberations at both trials as a sign that jurors had reservations about witness credibility, according to TheWrap. The appeals panel did not accept that reasoning, according to TheWrap.

In the Danny Masterson appeal, the habeas petition also argued that trial lawyer Philip Cohen failed to call rebuttal witnesses who could have undermined the accusers' credibility, according to TheWrap. The filing said Masterson implored Cohen to call those witnesses, according to TheWrap. Cohen relied instead on cross examination of prosecution testimony, according to TheWrap. The panel rejected the petition, according to TheWrap.

Despite the ruling, Masterson's attorneys Cliff Gardner and Eric Multhaup intend to pursue further legal action, according to mxdwn, which cited Deadline. The attorneys plan to seek review from the California Supreme Court and pursue habeas corpus relief based on evidence they claim was not presented to the jury, according to mxdwn. Masterson remains ineligible for parole until 2042, according to mxdwn. He is serving his sentence at California Men's Colony in San Luis Obispo after a transfer from Corcoran State Prison in 2024, according to mxdwn.

The ruling, issued in an eighty nine page decision, closes the current chapter of the Danny Masterson appeal while leaving the door open to a higher court review, according to TheWrap and mxdwn. The panel's closing words were direct, according to mxdwn: "The judgment is affirmed." For now, the convictions and the sentence stand, according to TheWrap and mxdwn.

GenZNewZ celebrity coverage this week has also followed Noah Wyle's selection as Sexiest Man Alive, the Ramayana premiere in Los Angeles and a Celebrity Traitors cliffhanger. Those stories, like the Danny Masterson appeal, show how quickly a single announcement can reshape a public conversation around a familiar name.