DOJ-OGR-00020980.jpg
Extracted Text (OCR)
Case 22-1426, Document 58_02/28/2023, 3475901, Page154 of 221
Case 1:20-cr-00330-AJN Document 653 Filed 04/01/22 Page 37 of 40
would prevent him from being fair or impartial. As discussed above, the minor discrepancies
raised by the Defendant do not alter this assessment.”
Nor was Juror 50’s inaccurate answer to Question 25 unreasonable. He testified that he
understood the question to ask whether he “was robbed or mugged or some sort of crime like
that,” and that he did not think of his history of “sexual abuse as being a victim of a crime.”
Hearing Tr. at 10. Because neither he nor a friend or family member had been robbed or mugged.
or been the victim of a similar type of crime, he testified, he answered “No” to Question 25.
That interpretation of what it means to be a victim of a crime, while technically incorrect, does
not evince intentional deception or partiality. Cf United States v. Fell, No. 2:01-CR-12, 2014
WL 3697810, at *7, *13 (D. Vt. July 24, 2014) (crediting the explanation of a juror that was
sexually abused as a child that she “ha[d] not considered [herself] a victim of a crime in all these
years” in part because the abuser was “not convicted of any crime”); McDonough, 464 U.S at
555 (“[JJurors are not necessarily experts in English usage. Called as they are from all walks of
life, many may be uncertain as to the meaning of terms which are relatively easily understood by
lawyers and judges.”). Evidently, other prospective jurors similarly interpreted Question 25 to
not refer to uncharged incidents of sexual abuse. For example, Juror C disclosed being , |
en” in response to Question 48, but in response to Question
25, reported only that a family member was mugged. See Juror C Questionnaire.
In sum, the Court concludes that Juror 50 is not impliedly or inferably biased.
° The Defendant also notes that Juror 50 apparently posted on social media about attending therapy to help “deal[]
with the stress of the [Maxwell] case.” Maxwell Post-Hearing Br. at 9; see also Maxwell Br. at 20. It is perfectly
reasonable for a juror to go to therapy and use of such services does not disqualify a citizen from service. In fact,
courts in this district routinely make counseling services available to jurors following the completion of a trial.
37
DOJ-OGR-00020980
Extracted Information
Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00020980.jpg |
| File Size | 650.6 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.1% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,306 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 20:05:47.833816 |