Acting as a “13th juror,” a state appeals court has exercised its independent factual-review power to reverse the conviction of Mayer Herskovic, one of about 20 Hasidic Jewish men who allegedly gang-assaulted a gay black man in an attack in Brooklyn that sparked headlines.

The ruling, handed down on Wednesday by the Appellate Division, Second Department, is considered powerful and relatively rare. Unlike a reversal on a matter of law, in which the guilty party is typically ordered to be retried, throwing out Herskovic’s conviction on the facts means that the underlying indictment is dismissed. He can’t be retried on the same charges. It would be double jeopardy.