Last Updated:November 18, 2025, 07:18 IST

Danny Masterson seeks to overturn his rape convictions, claiming lawyer errors and judicial bias against the Church of Scientology in his 2023 Los Angeles retrial.

That 70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rapes of two women.

ormer “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson has filed a petition asking California courts to overturn his 2023 rape convictions, claiming his trial lawyer failed to present critical evidence and call key witnesses that could have affected the outcome.

The habeas corpus petition, submitted Monday to California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal, contends that Masterson’s attorney, Philip Cohen, did not adequately represent him during the retrial that ended with convictions for raping two women at his Los Angeles home in 2003. Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

The filing also raises concerns about judicial bias against the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member. It alleges the trial court permitted an “unconstitutional intrusion” into the church’s teachings and misinterpreted its scripture. The women involved in the case are former Scientology members, and the church’s practices were a central topic at trial.

According to the petition, Cohen interviewed only two of the 20 potential witnesses identified by Masterson’s co-counsel and an investigator. Some of these witnesses would have testified that the women spoke positively about their sexual relationships with Masterson. Others, including psychological and pharmacological experts, were prepared to testify about how alcohol and drugs might have affected memory.

The court document further claims there was an “unexpected and unreasonable failure of trial counsel to present any of the mountain of exculpatory evidence” compiled by Masterson’s pretrial attorney, Shawn Holley, which it says amounted to a violation of his constitutional rights.

Masterson’s first trial ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict on any of the three rape counts. He was retried shortly afterward, resulting in convictions on two counts, while the jury remained deadlocked on the third.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo previously declined to delay the first trial to allow Holley to continue representing former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer in his own legal matters, leading Cohen to take over as lead attorney.

Neither Cohen nor the attorneys representing the women immediately responded to requests for comment on the new petition.

“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 Eric Multhaup, the attorney who filed the petition. “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 filing specifically alleges that Judge Olmedo allowed the prosecution to portray the Church of Scientology negatively and claims Cohen did not introduce evidence to counter that portrayal.

Masterson’s petition is separate from his ongoing appeal before the same court. He is currently serving his sentence at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo and will not be eligible for parole for more than 20 years.

Masterson, 49, rose to fame on “That ’70s Show” alongside Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Topher Grace, appearing from 1998 to 2006. He briefly reunited with Kutcher in the 2016 Netflix series “The Ranch” but was written out after the Los Angeles Police Department investigation into the sexual assault allegations became public.

(With inputs from AP)