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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 439 _ Filed 11/12/21 Page 63 of 69
The parties should follow the Rules. Ms. Maxwell intends to do so and will object to
evidence she believes is inadmissible at trial.
IX. MS. MAXWELL'S COUNSEL UNDERSTANDS AND WILL FOLLOW THE
RULES OF EVIDENCE AND PROHIBITION AGAINST ARGUMENT FOR
JURY NULLIFICATION — RENDERING THIS MOTION MOOT
This motion in /imine, like most of the preceding ones, is another request that the parties,
and the Court, abide by the Federal Rules of Evidence or that the Court offer an advisory opinion
as to which types of evidence fall within the Rules. As described previously, supra at
Preliminary Statement, these are inappropriate motions in /imine. It is unclear if the
government's real intent in filing the motion is to entice defense counsel to share her intended
evidence or arguments for trial in advance of the deadlines set by this Court. In any event, Ms.
Maxwell's defense and her evidence depends very much on what evidence the government elicits
or argues at trial and in opening statements.
There are certain longstanding and easily understood rules of evidence which apply to
this case. Rule 404(a)(2) permits introduction at trial of a defendant's "pertinent trait," which, if
offered, the government may rebut. Rule 405(a) permits evidence of a person's character or
character trait by reputation or opinion, which, if offered, the opposing party may then inquire as
to relevant specific instances of conduct. Rule 608(a) permits a witness's credibility to be
attacked or supported by reputation testimony for truthfulness or untruthfulness. Ms. Maxwell
and her counsel do not dispute that these rules of evidence apply nor that they all understand the
prohibitions on encouraging jury nullification. Ms. Maxwell and her counsel will not argue to
the jury that they may acquit if they do not like that law. See United States v. Gardner, No. 16-
cr-20135, 2016 WL 5404207, at *6-*7 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 28, 2016) (denying motion in /imine
regarding jury nullification. because, "[a]t this point, it is unclear exactly what is included in the
category of “evidence or argument that relates only to jury nullification. Although some
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006480.jpg |
| File Size | 762.0 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 94.6% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,224 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:11:42.788101 |