SAN JOSE, CA – January 03: Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, middle, and her household depart the Robert F. Peckham Federal Constructing and U.S. Courthouse after the jury discovered her responsible on 4 counts in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022. Holmes was discovered responsible of 4 counts of defrauding buyers, every carrying a most penalty of 20 years in jail. (Dai Sugano/Bay Space Information Group)
SAN JOSE — Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has filed a movement indicating her authorized crew is in search of issues within the jury that convicted her in an try and get her responsible verdicts for fraud thrown out.
The movement, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court docket right here, was written by an appeals specialist on Holmes’ 10-lawyer crew, and seeks to maintain the unique variations of juror questionnaires sealed from public view as a result of “the content material of these questionnaires could be the topic of additional litigation.”
Authorized specialists say the reference to authorized motion across the jury questionnaires suggests Holmes’ legal professionals are hoping these paperwork may present details about juror dishonesty or one other concern affecting the equity of her trial proceedings.
“We are able to see that taking place proper now within the Maxwell case and the Peterson case,” mentioned Bay Space authorized analyst and former prosecutor Michele Hagan, referring to the high-profile sex-trafficking case of Ghislaine Maxwell and the blockbuster homicide case of Scott Peterson, who killed his pregnant spouse Laci and dumped her physique within the San Francisco Bay.
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Legal professionals for Maxwell — who recruited teenage ladies for intercourse with the late financier and convicted intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein — are anticipated this week to file to have her 5 convictions for intercourse trafficking and associated crimes overturned. Her authorized crew mentioned they discovered stable proof that a juror didn't reveal his personal abuse when requested in a juror questionnaire if he had ever been a sufferer of sexual abuse. Legal professionals for Peterson are attempting to overturn his convictions for murdering Laci and her unborn son based mostly on the declare that a juror didn't disclose throughout jury choice that a boyfriend had crushed her whereas she was pregnant and that she had sought a restraining order in 2000 in opposition to her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend whereas pregnant. The juror has denied the declare.
Holmes’ legal professionals are “in search of that type of info, which might be grounds to request a brand new trial,” mentioned former Santa Clara County prosecutor Steven Clark. Legal professionals for Holmes didn't reply to a request for remark.
Holmes, 37, based the Palo Alto blood-testing startup in 2003 at age 19. She was discovered responsible Jan. 3 of 4 expenses of defrauding buyers out of a complete of $144 million. Her sentencing listening to is scheduled for Sept. 26.
Her legal professionals are probably attempting to find out if all her jurors have been trustworthy of their questionnaire responses, Clark mentioned. Her authorized crew might be in search of to maintain the unique questionnaires — launched earlier in redacted kind concealing the identification of most jurors — sealed to maintain media or different events from contacting jurors and probably affecting their willingness to speak overtly with representatives for Holmes, Clark mentioned.
Holmes’ legal professionals have the unique questionnaires and are entitled to contact the jurors, or to rent non-public investigators to query them, Hagan mentioned. Holmes’ authorized crew may ask her trial choose, Edward Davila, to throw out her convictions based mostly on claimed juror misconduct, or may alleged such misconduct as a part of their anticipated enchantment, Hagan added. Hagan famous that the bid to maintain the unique questionnaires sealed by way of any enchantment interval conflicts with the general public’s 1st Modification proper to entry authorities info.
Holmes’ legal professionals earlier this month filed discover with Davila that they intend to hunt dismissal of her convictions or a brand new trial below federal courtroom guidelines, however didn't specify the grounds they plan to assert.