Ghislaine Maxwell watches as witness Eva Andersson is puzzled through protection lawyer Jeffrey Pagliuca all over the trial of Maxwell, the Jeffrey Epstein affiliate accused of intercourse trafficking, in a court docket cartoon in New York Town, December 17, 2021.
Jane Rosenberg | Reuters
Attorneys for Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite lately convicted of purchasing underage ladies to be sexually abused through Jeffrey Epstein, filed a movement supporting her bid for a brand new trial on Wednesday.
The submitting comes weeks after Maxwell’s conviction used to be put in danger with disclosures that no less than one juror would possibly no longer have published all over jury variety that they themselves have been sufferers of sexual abuse.
Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim filed the brand new trial request, which might element the arguments supporting the movement, and its accompanying shows beneath seal in Long island federal district court docket.
In a letter, Sternheim requested Pass judgement on Alison Nathan “that each one submissions touching on Juror 50 stay beneath seal till the Court docket regulations at the Movement.”
Maxwell, 60, used to be convicted Dec. 29 of more than one felonies associated with the abuse of underage ladies through Epstein, her former boyfriend, who had fatally hung himself in a federal prison in August 2019 whilst looking forward to trial in a federal kid intercourse trafficking case.
Days later, a 35-year-old juror within the case, Juror 50, in media interviews mentioned he have been sexually abused as a kid, and mentioned that truth along with his fellow jurors all over their deliberations.
The juror used to be quoted as pronouncing he didn’t recall being requested on a jury variety questionnaire whether or not he have been a sufferer of sexual abuse, however mentioned he would have responded truthfully if he noticed that query.
That query used to be on that questionnaire.
Not one of the publicly viewable parts of filings through Maxwell’s legal professionals explicitly say that Juror 50 did not appropriately reveal his abuse historical past at the questionnaire.
However the ones legal professionals previous this month, after the juror’s feedback have been printed, referred to as on Nathan to reserve a brand new trial with out even keeping a listening to at the factor.
Protection legal professionals on the time famous that the U.S. Ideally suited Court docket has dominated {that a} new trial will also be granted if it may be proven {that a} “juror failed to reply to truthfully a subject material query” all over jury variety and {that a} proper reaction would had been grounds to disqualify the juror from being seated.
Ghislaine Maxwell speaks on the Arctic Circle Discussion board in Reykjavik, Iceland October 2013.
The Arctic Circle by means of Reuters
Nathan is looking forward to arguments from each prosecutors and protection legal professionals at the query of whether or not she will have to behavior an inquiry into the juror’s questionnaire and his conceivable impact on fellow jurors all over deliberations.
Within the intervening time, she has set a June 28 sentencing date for Maxwell. That sentencing could be canceled if the pass judgement on finally ends up ordering a brand new trial for her.
Maxwell stays held with out bail in a federal prison in Brooklyn.
