Who is Neama Rahmani? Legal expert says it's 'very hard' for Danny Masterson to win an appeal
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The chances of Danny Masterson winning an appeal are very slim, according to attorney Neama Rahmani, a prestigious California personal injury attorney and President and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers.
After graduating from UCLA at 19, Neama continued his education at Harvard Law School, where he graduated at 22 as one of the youngest students ever in its 200 years of existence.
Neama told Us Weekly that the jury verdict was based on the credibility of the witnesses and that the jury believed two of the victims who accused Masterson of raping them in the early 2000s.
Why are Danny Masterson's chances of winning an appeal very slim?
The lawyer, referring to Masterson's attorneys, suggested, “You generally can’t appeal a jury verdict when it’s a question of fact."
Neama Rahmani said, "Does the jury believe Danny Masterson" or "do they believe the victims? And in this particular case, they believe two of the victims."
He added, “It is very hard to win on appeal and I don’t expect Danny Masterson to win."
Will Danny Masterson spend all of the 30 years in jail?
He said that Masterson will probably serve at least 30 years in prison and that his release will depend on the parole board.
Rahmani also said that Masterson’s sentence of 30 years to life was the minimum that could have been imposed under California law.
As per the law, it requires consecutive sentences for violent sex crimes with multiple victims, he told the publication.
Had Danny Masterson thought he would get away with the crimes?
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller, a prosecutor in Danny Masterson's rape trial, told People that Masterson “always thought he was going to get away with it."
He said the behaviours and actions of the former 'That '70s Show' actor were “predatory in nature as well as opportunistic.”
He said, “He [Masterson] surreptitiously drugged the victims using an alcoholic beverage as the vehicle for administration and then forcibly raped them as they became incapacitated."
He said this gave him the "opportunity" to be in control and dominate his victims so as to carry "forcible assaults."
Even though toxicology was not done, Muller believes the victims were allegedly drugged with GHB "based largely on the nature of the consistent symptoms experienced and rapid onset."