Good news for Alan Dershowitz in a case involving him and some of the nation's most prominent attorneys: A state appellate court Wednesday found a woman seeking sanctions against him lacked standing.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused Dershowitz of having sex with her while she was a minor, sought sanctions based on statements in Dershowitz's affidavit in high-profile litigation against two other prominent attorneys, both of whom had represented Giuffre: former federal judge Paul Cassell and Farmer Jaffe Weissing Edwards Fistos & Lehrman partner Bradley Edwards.

Dershowitz is professor emeritus at Harvard Law School and a noted criminal defense attorney on the national stage. He represented hotelier Leona Helmsley, former National Football League running back O.J. Simpson, televangelist Jim Bakker, boxing champ Mike Tyson and heiress Patty Hearst.