DOJ-OGR-00005213.jpg

Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 342 Filed 10/13/21 Page8of17 downfall of other prominent New Yorkers due to sex scandals: former Governors David Paterson and Andrew Spitzer, former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, former U.S. Congressman Andrew Wiener, not to mention the many New York-based television celebrities against whom serious allegations of sexual abuse have been alleged: Matt Lauer, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly. The fact that a woman now stands trial for charges almost exclusively alleged against men heightens the interest and intrigue of this case. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of negative articles about Ms. Maxwell and Epstein in the very newspapers, television stations, and streaming platforms to which the jury pool in this case are regularly exposed (New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NY 1, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Netflix, Peacock). The jury pool from which the jury in this case will be selected has been exposed to more than its fair share of media coverage fomenting public outrage at individuals accused of sex crimes, like Ms. Maxwell. The negative publicity has been so pervasive, vitriolic, and extreme that Ms. Maxwell has been demonized in the press. While the Court has no power to protect Ms. Maxwell from such public contempt, it can exercise its supervisory powers and discretion and implement protocols designed to obtain an open-minded jury sworn to return a verdict based solely on evidence presented at trial. it. A ROBUST JURY QUESTIONNAIRE AND INDIVIDUAL VOIR DIRE ARE NECESSARY FOR THIS CASE A. A Questionnaire Alone Is Insufficient to Uncover Potential Juror Bias In cases like this—where there has been pervasive media exposure that inflames passions about the underlying events and demonizes a party—prospective jurors can form biases long before they appear for jury service. Once a pretrial judgment is made, the concepts of “belief DOJ-OGR-00005213