US Judge Denies Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bid for New Trial Despite Juror’s Mistake

© REUTERS / JANE ROSENBERGBritish socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appears during her arraignment hearing on a new indictment at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, New York, U.S. April 23, 2021, in this courtroom sketch.
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell appears during her arraignment hearing on a new indictment at Manhattan Federal Court in New York City, New York, U.S. April 23, 2021, in this courtroom sketch.  - Sputnik International, 1920, 02.04.2022
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The ruling comes a month after a juror testified in court that he had made an “inadvertent mistake” in filling out his jury questionnaire form. The juror said under oath on March 8 that he had failed to indicate that he was a victim of sexual abuse, though he was sexually abused by a stepbrother and friend when he was 9 and 10 years old.
US Judge Alison J. Nathan ruled on Friday that the juror’s mistake will not be enough to cause a mistrial, and denied Ghislaine Maxwell’s request for a retrial. And while the juror said that his past did not influence his approach as a juror during his decision making, Maxwell’s lawyers argued that “had he told the truth, he would have been challenged, and excluded, for cause.”
Maxwell’s lawyers were hopeful to take action once the juror had revealed to the news media that he had informed other jurors during deliberations about his own history of sexual abuse. The juror had explained that he could remember “some details, but not everything” when it came to his own sexual abuse experiences. The reliability of victims’ memories was a key point of contention in the case.
Judges, however, are not allowed to know what is said in the jury deliberation room, but may examine a juror’s questionnaire made during the jury selection.
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Nathan found that the juror made “several direct, unambiguous statements to multiple media outlets about his own experience that do not pertain to jury deliberations, and that cast doubt on the accuracy of his responses” in the jury selection process; she also acknowledged the mistake he made on his juror questionnaire.
But the prosecution noted that eight other potential jurors reported having experienced sexual abuse or harassment and were still able to remain in the jury pool without any objection from Maxwell’s lawyers.
“It was entirely appropriate for Juror 50 to sit on this jury,” the prosecutors wrote, “and nothing about his service as a juror calls into question the integrity of the verdict in this case.”
The former British socialite was convicted in December 2021 on five of the six charges she was accused of, including sex-trafficking, conspiracy to entice individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, conspiracy to transport individuals under the age of 17 to travel in interstate commerce with intent to engage in illegal sexual activity, and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of individuals under the age of 18.
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Maxwell's conviction stemmed from the predatory crimes committed by American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was said to be either her boyfriend- or friend as their relationship was never fully disclosed. Epstein killed himself in prison in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting his own trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, though he had pleaded guilty before his death. He was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correction Center the morning of August 10, 2019. The medical examiner determined he had hanged himself with a bedsheet.
Maxwell’s trial is often viewed by the media as the trial that Epstein never had. During her trial, she was described by prosecutors as a serial predator, who, between 1994 and 2004, preyed on powerless, oftentimes financially poor, underage girls and lured them in for Epstein. The defense has argued that Maxwell is paying for the Epstein's crimes although the jury ultimately convicted the socialite.
The trial lasted for only seventeen days. She is expected to be sentenced to 65 years in prison on June 28.
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