Analysis: No guarantee of new Maxwell trial after juror’s revelations, experts say
NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) – The possible failure of a juror in Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial to disclose that he was a victim of sexual abuse may not be enough to overturn the British socialite’s sex trafficking conviction and warrant a new trial, legal experts said on Thursday.
Maxwell, 60, was convicted last week on sex trafficking and other charges for recruiting teenage girls to have sexual encounters with Jeffrey Epstein. Her lawyers asked for a new trial after the juror told Reuters and other news outlets that he shared his experience of sexual abuse during deliberations.
It was unclear whether the juror, who asked to be identified by his first and middle name, Scotty David, revealed that experience during pre-trial vetting.
But not all instances of jurors failing to disclose information is significant enough to merit a new trial, experts said, noting that cases where verdicts were overturned largely involved jurors who deliberately omitted information to try to get on the panel.
“The system does not favor overturning verdicts. We value finality,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, adding that the judge has “broad discretion” in this case.
In U.S. court cases, prospective jurors who the judge decides are biased or have a conflict of interest can be dismissed for cause. After that, both the defense and prosecutors can each dismiss a certain number of jurors for no particular reason, known as a peremptory strike.
