Danny Masterson is accusing his trial lawyers of providing a poor defense in trying to overturn his rape conviction.
Masterson, a former star of “That ’70s Show,” was convicted of two counts of rape in 2023 and is serving a 30-year sentence at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
In a habeas corpus motion filed Monday, appellate attorneys accused his trial attorney, Philip Cohen, of failing to call witnesses and pushing back on prosecutors’ claims about Scientology.
According to the filing, Masterson “begged (Cohen) to present at least minimal defense evidence, but the attorney refused.”
Mr. Masterson was convicted of raping two women in his Hollywood Hills home in 2003, but the jury deadlocked on a third rape charge. In an earlier trial in 2022, jurors suspended all three counts but were leaning towards a not guilty verdict.
Scientology played a role in both trials, but was especially prominent in the retrial. Prosecutors argued that the women were discouraged from reporting prominent members of the church. Two of them testified that they were threatened with excommunication if they went to the police.
At the retrial, prosecutors called former Scientologist Claire Headley to testify that the church needed special permission to go to authorities.
According to the habeas petition, the church’s lawyers urged Cohen to call longtime Scientologist Hugh Hoyt to refute the allegations. Mr. Whitt was on the list of defense witnesses, but Mr. Cohen and his co-counsel chose not to call him.
Cohen’s strategy in both trials was to downplay Masterson’s religion rather than vigorously defend it.
“Why do I get asked so much about Scientology?” he asked in his closing argument. “Is there any other possibility that there is a problem with the government’s claims?”
The habeas petition argues that Mr. Cohen is generally averse to mounting an affirmative defense, relying instead on cross-examination of government witnesses to establish reasonable doubt.
The strategy mostly worked in the first trial, with Mr. Masterson being acquitted within a few votes. However, in the retrial, the prosecution took advantage of the more favorable evidence and developed a more aggressive case.
The petition alleges that Cohen failed to change his strategy to account for that and failed to interview numerous defense witnesses that could have undermined his accusers’ credibility.
“The bottom line is that while the jury saw only the tip of the iceberg of available defense evidence in the form of inconsistent statements from the accused witnesses, there was a wealth of evidence that could directly prove innocence.”
It was not used without any viable tactical reason,” the petition alleges.
Masterson’s lawyers filed a separate appeal in December challenging many of the judge’s rulings. A habeas petition allows evidence that was not presented at trial to be addressed.
“The jury only heard half of the prosecution’s story,” Masterson’s appellate attorney Eric Maltup said in a statement. “Danny deserves a new trial where the jury can also hear his side.”
