NEW YORK (AP) — An inquiry into conceivable juror misconduct at British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s intercourse trafficking trial shall be restricted to his solutions to 2 responses on a long questionnaire right through jury variety to stop an “intrusive fishing expedition” by means of protection legal professionals, a pass judgement on mentioned in an opinion launched Friday.
U.S. District Pass judgement on Alison J. Nathan mentioned within the partly redacted choice dated Thursday that she’ll query a juror on March 8 about his solutions to 2 questions about a 50-question questionnaire to be told why he mentioned he’d by no means been a sufferer of sexual abuse or a sufferer of a criminal offense despite the fact that he printed after the trial that he had.
Maxwell, 60, was once convicted in past due December of intercourse trafficking and different fees alleging that she recruited teenage ladies from 1994 to 2004 for financier Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse. She awaits a June sentencing. Epstein, 66, killed himself in a Long island federal prison cellular in August 2019 whilst watching for a intercourse trafficking trial.
The juror forged doubt at the Maxwell trial verdict when he informed information shops in January that he had disclosed to fellow jurors right through a weeklong deliberation that he was once a kid intercourse abuse sufferer and satisfied different jurors {that a} sufferer’s imperfect reminiscence of intercourse abuse doesn’t imply it didn’t occur.
Nathan rejected requests by means of Maxwell’s legal professionals to straight away order a brand new trial or to let protection lawyers collect proof corresponding to communications the juror had via social media or by means of electronic mail with alleged sufferers or witnesses, different jurors or media representatives. In addition they sought proof of bills he would possibly have won for any interview or knowledge he gave about his jury provider.
“The Courtroom denies those requests as vexatious, intrusive, unjustified, and a fishing expedition,” the pass judgement on wrote.
She mentioned it was once “procedurally flawed” for Maxwell’s lawyers to subpoena social media firms for data.
“The Courtroom concludes that the Defendant has now not made a appearing that any pre-hearing discovery is acceptable, and the request to have interaction in an intrusive fishing expedition is denied,” Nathan mentioned.
A legal professional for Maxwell didn’t straight away reply to a request for remark.
Nathan cited earlier instances and rulings by means of appeals courts to turn that the inquiry into the habits of a juror recognized in paperwork most effective as “Juror No. 50” will have to be restricted and that different jurors might not be wondered.
However she additionally wrote that his “direct, unambiguous statements to a couple of media shops” supply considerable and incontrovertible proof that an impropriety — a false observation — right through jury variety has came about.
“To be transparent, the prospective impropriety isn’t that any individual with a historical past of sexual abuse can have served at the jury. Fairly, it’s the attainable failure to reply honestly to questions right through the jury variety procedure that requested for that subject matter knowledge in order that any attainable bias may well be explored,” she mentioned.
She mentioned her choice, introduced Thursday, to reserve an evidentiary public listening to the place she is going to query the juror was once made vital as a result of he checked the “No” field as his resolution to Query 48.
The query requested: Have you ever or a pal or circle of relatives member ever been the sufferer of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual attack? (This comprises exact or tried sexual attack or different undesirable sexual advance, together with by means of a stranger, acquaintance, manager, instructor, or circle of relatives member.)
Nathan mentioned she may also query the juror about why he checked “No” to Query 25, which requested: Have you ever, or any of your kinfolk or shut buddies, ever been a sufferer of a criminal offense?
She mentioned the aim of her questions for the juror shall be to decide if he has engaged in any misconduct warranting a brand new trial.