Harvey Weinstein Wants Court To Check If Prosecutors Violated His Constitutional Rights

Harvey Weinstein's lawyers are asking the highest court in California to look into whether his Constitutional rights were violated by prosecutors using pre-recorded video testimony as evidence at his trial.

The disgraced producer's legal team filed a petition with the California Supreme Court earlier this week, asking the court to consider whether testimony provided by Pascal Vicedomini via a pre-recorded Zoom call violated Weinstein's right to confront witnesses against him under the 6th Amendment to the Constitution.

Weinstein's side claims face-to-face confrontation allows the jury to base the reliability of the witness on body language and other factors ... which can't really be replicated in a pre-recorded video.

There are some allowed exceptions to getting live testimony, but Weinstein's lawyers note many of those exceptions are geared toward protecting child abuse victims -- and do not apply here.

Weinstein is also asking the CA Supreme Court to judge whether questions about an accuser's romantic Facebook messages should be permitted if they refute specific factual claims made by the person, rather than being used to attack the accuser's credibility ... or if the state's "rape shield laws" prevent such questioning.

Weinstein tells TMZ … "The evidence that was kept from the jury would have exonerated me, and Jennifer Bonjean has done a terrific job making the point clear. This petition demonstrates why that evidence mattered. The California Supreme Court now has an opportunity to address fundamental issues of fairness and a defendant's constitutional rights."

As you know ... Weinstein's still trying to secure his release from prison amid his failing health. Last month, he was taken from Rikers Island to Bellevue Hospital after suffering heart failure due to a case of pneumonia.