Juror Trouble - Ghislaine Maxwell Trial
“Some of the statements, as related in the media, merit attention by the court.”
FOURTH UPDATE:
According to a Fox News reporter, sources say that Scotty David did lie on his juror selection questionnaire.
A reporter for the Telegraph also said they had independent confirmation of this.
“There are several questions that should have picked up [sic] same subject and of course the judge even said she could ‘smoke out the lies,’” she tweeted before deleting her tweet.
"He did not fill in that form correctly," said Fox’s source anonymously. "He was asked point blank, and he said, that isn't the case. Obviously, it is, from his own words."
According to their source, Scotty answered “no” to question 48, which questioned potential jurors on whether or not they’d had any experience with sexual assault.
Fox:
Judge Nathan asked Scotty David directly if he could be fair to both sides in the case. He said he could. The judge insisted one more time: "Other than what I have asked you, do you have any reason to think that you can't be fair and impartial here?" "I do not," he responded.
THIRD UPDATE:
Scotty has retained a lawyer, New York based Todd Spodek of Spodek Law Group.
SECOND UPDATE:
Maxwell’s lawyers have submitted a second letter in response to the government’s request for an inquiry into a juror’s statements to the media. They say that no inquiry is needed, and a new trial should be held.
Maxwell’s lawyers cited a Supreme Court decision (McDonough Power Equip., Inc. v. Greenwood 464 U.S. 548, 556 (1984)) which found that “a party must first demonstrate that a juror failed to answer honestly a material question on voir dire, and then further show that a correct response would have provided a valid basis for a challenge for course.”
If this has been established, a new trial should be held. There are large redacted sections in the letter.
Maxwell’s defense lawyers further requested that, if Judge Nathan denies their request for a new trial, the inquiry into the juror be scheduled sooner than one month from now. They also suggested that the entire jury should be examined to determine the conduct of Scotty David, who has spoken with the media.
Judge Nathan responded to the letters, setting a schedule for the government and the defense to make their arguments for a new trial. She’ll expect a defense motion by January 19th, 2022, the government’s response by February 2nd, 2022, and the defense’s reply on February 9th, 2022.
Nathan also granted the government’s request to appoint the juror with a court appointed defense lawyer, subject to his right to deny counsel.
And she set a timeline for any other post-verdict defense motions. They have until the 4th of February, 2022 to file, the government has until the 18th of February, 2022 to oppose, and the defense has until March 4, 2022 to give their reply.
UPDATED:
Maxwell’s defense attorney Christian Everdell filed a letter calling for a new trial in response to interviews a juror gave to the media.
A juror identifying himself as “Scotty David” - his first and middle name - talked with The Independent the other day. It was the first time any member of the jury which convicted Ghislaine at the end of the year has spoken publicly with the press. Since then, he’s also talked with the Daily Mail and Reuters.
He described being proud about the role he’d played in convicting Maxwell. For him, the key point was that he found the testimony of the witnesses believable. Part of the reason for that, said Scotty, was that he’d been sexually abused himself.
“I know what happened when I was sexually abused,” he told The Independent. “I remember the colour of the carpet, the walls. Some of it can be replayed like a video,” he explained to the jury.
Some members of the jury also asked why the girls hadn’t come forward sooner about their sexual abuse, Scotty said. When he told them that it had taken him until high school to come forward about his abuse, the room went silent.
According to Kate Briquelet, who covered the trial for the Daily Beast, Scotty’s profile matches with Juror No. 50. In voir dire transcripts, which cover the jury selection process, he was not questioned about his experience with sexual abuse.
On the final juror selection questionnaire, which all jurors had to answer, question 48 asked potential jurors if “you or a friend or a family member [have] ever been the victim of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or sexual assault? (This includes actual or attempted sexual assault or other unwanted sexual advance, including by a stranger, acquaintance, supervisor, teacher, or family member).”
There were three boxes a juror could choose from to respond:
Yes (self), Yes (friend or family member), or No.
Section 48a asked jurors to explain their experience if they checked yes, and 48b. asked if “this would accept your ability to serve fairly and impartially as a juror in this case.”
Scotty told the Daily Mail that he couldn’t remember those specific questions when he’d filled out his questionnaire, but said he’d answered all the questions on it truthfully.
The Mail also reported that after Scotty revealed his sexual abuse, another juror told the room they’d been sexually abused too.
Now, the government is getting ahead of the issue.
Today, they filed a letter in the docket making the court aware of the interviews Scotty had given, and called for an inquiry to be held into whether or not he’d answered his questionnaire accurately.
“Some of the statements, as related in the media, merit attention by the court,” the government wrote.
If the court agrees to such a hearing, writes the government, it should be held in one month by the court itself, and the juror should be contacted promptly and offered counsel.
According to the prosecution’s letter, they informed the defense about the media interviews, but haven’t heard word back yet.