I May be spending New Year's Eve with Ghislaine Maxwell
Jurors at sex trafficking trial have been asked to deliberate on 12/31 and 1/1
At around 9:30 a.m. today (the sixth day of deliberations) of the Ghislaine Maxwell sex trafficking trial, Judge Nathan got a note from the jury.
The note requested transcripts of testimony from five witnesses: Shawn, who was Carolyn’s ex boyfriend, Maxwell’s former assistant Cimberly Espinosa, two FBI agents and Dr. Elizabeth Loftus, the expert for the defense who testified about false memory syndrome.
After requesting testimony from the prosecution’s side, including from Matt, the ex-boyfriend of the accuser “Jane”, the jury seems to be methodically making their way through the defense witnesses.
The jury also asked for clarification of their schedule going forward. They asked: “Are we required to continue our deliberations everyday including 12/31 and 1/1?”
The judge has stated that she is extremely concerned about the spread of Covid (especially the Omicron variant, which has hit New York hard) further delaying the trial, and stated that her response would read that she expected for “deliberations to continue as needed, every day going forward until you reach a verdict” unless a juror has some sort of “substantial hardship.”
Maybe it’s just the fact that I had drunk two matcha lattes back to back, but this warmed my heart. I think it’s a good sign for American democracy - at least it shows that the jurors are doing their best and debating the issues.
Still, there were audible groans from the journalists in the courtroom as they realized that they may be ringing in 2022 in the federal courthouse with Ghislaine Maxwell.
The trial continues!