Actor from 'That '70s Show' Seeks to Overturn Rape Convictions

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In a significant legal maneuver, the defense team for Danny Masterson, the actor renowned for his part in “That ’70s Show,” has filed a habeas corpus petition. This development, which emerged on Monday, aims to overturn his convictions on two counts of rape.

Masterson’s attorneys have issued a public statement asserting that new evidence has come to light. According to them, this evidence is crucial and should prompt a reconsideration and ultimately, a reversal of Masterson’s convictions.

The legal representatives argue that the trial was marred by fundamental unfairness. They claim that Masterson’s defense did not bring forth critical evidence during the trial, which could have demonstrated his innocence.

In 2023, Masterson faced conviction on two out of three rape charges, receiving a sentence of 30 years to life in state prison. His legal team now hopes that this latest petition will change the course of justice in his favor.

A jury failed to reach a verdict on a third rape charge; the two incidents he was convicted for occurred at his Hollywood-area home in 2003, at the height of the success of “That ’70’s Show,” the teen sitcom in which he starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace from 1998 to 2006.

This mug shot provided by the California Department of Corrections on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023, shows inmate Danny Masterson. (California Dept. of Corrections)

Among the “mountain of exculpatory evidence” that Masterson’s previous lawyers had allegedly left out were crucial witness statements; according to the filing, the actor’s first attorneys identified over 20 witnesses whose statements “contradicted key prosecution theories that undermined the accusations.”

“That evidence was provided to replacement counsel, but he never presented any of it,” the filing states.

Instead, Masterson’s team allegedly only spoke personally with two witnesses and ignored testimony described as “manifestly exculpatory” while declining to call any defense witnesses at either trial.

“Masterson’s trial counsel handled the second trial exactly as the first trial, despite the prosecution dramatically expanding its evidence,” says the legal team for the “That 70’s Show” actor, who is also known for roles in “Men at Work” and “The Ranch.”

Lawyers also allege that Masterson’s attorney “failed to meet the minimum standard for defending a person charged with serious crimes,” adding that there were individuals, who according to the petition, would have testified that one of the complaining witnesses initially told a friend that her encounter with Masterson was “the best sex [she] ever had.”

“Among the available witnesses were individuals who would have testified that the complaining witnesses described their encounters with Masterson as positive and consensual in the days and weeks after they occurred…another complaining witness discussed her encounter with a close friend, describing it in a lighthearted and positive manner,” the petition states. “Other guests in Masterson’s home on one evening in question heard what they believed to be enthusiastic, consensual sexual activity.”

Danny Masterson and his wife Bijou Phillips arrive for closing arguments in his second trial, Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in Los Angeles. Masterson is charged with raping three women at his Los Angeles home between 2001 and 2003. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

A total of eight separate ineffective assistance of counsel claims have been filed, claiming that their cumulative effect rendered the trial “fundamentally unfair.”

Masterson’s new legal team cited the fact that the jury in the actor’s first trial failed to reach a verdict, and alleged that the second trial’s prosecution team was “far more aggressive,” while Masterson’s remained “equally weak.”

The habeas corpus motion further alleges that Masterson’s retrial was “fundamentally changed” when prosecutors obtained permission to introduce testimony about the Church of Scientology, with which Masterson and the two victims are associated. According to the petition, the prosecution used Scientology’s doctrine and institutional practices as “evidence to negatively portray the church as an intimidation force.”

“This narrative became a centerpiece of closing arguments,” the petition states, further alleging Masterson’s previously described “weak” defense did not present available evidence to counter the Church of Scientology testimony.

“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,” said attorney Eric Multhaup. “The habeas corpus petition is accompanied by 65 exhibits that document the evidence of innocence that could have been presented, but was not. 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.”

Masterson, 49, is serving his 30-year-to-life sentence at North Kern State Prison.