With three weeks to go until the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the jury selection process has begun, with lawyers for the defense and prosecution teams set to submit proposed questions in separate filings on Monday night.
jury selection proceedings, or see say, allowing both sides to winnow down more potential jurors to just 12, plus some alternates, who will eventually hear the case. As Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the trial, noted at a recent hearing, the jury selection process must be completed before the trial is scheduled to begin on October 3.
period see say, the judge, as well as the other side’s legal team, will examine potential jurors for bias, with both sides allowing multiple strikes to remove individuals from the jury pool.In guidance of the Southern District of New York website, Kaplan’s Office explain It uses “tapping panel method”, in which both sides have many “peremptory challenges”, and the defense usually has more “peremptory challenges” than the prosecution.
The questions asked by defense and prosecution attorneys describe the potential bias both sides will be looking for. Among the issues raised, prosecutors were primarily concerned with whether prospective jurors had prior knowledge of the case and whether they already had an informed opinion on the Bankman-Fried case — a difficult task given the widespread coverage of FTX’s collapse. Task. Prosecutors also noted that the trial is expected to last about six weeks.
Bankman-Fried’s defense attorney asked similar questions, but with some notable deviations. They plan to ask about several potentially controversial topics, including Bankman-Fried’s involvement in a philanthropic movement called “effective altruism,” which believes followers should follow a rationalist approach to maximize impact. As Bankman-Fried often details in interviews, he chose a high-income path, starting at Jane Street Trading Company, with the intention of giving away most of his earnings. In one question, defense attorneys asked prospective jurors “if they have a negative view of amassing wealth to support causes that improve the world or help others.”
Defense attorneys also plan to ask about Bankman-Fried’s staggering history of political donations and lobbying, which will be a major theme in the case. While prosecutors dropped the charge related to campaign finance fraud, they said they intended to include it in other related charges and make it the focus of cases against other FTX executives.
In another question, defense attorneys will tell prospective jurors that Bankman-Fried has ADHD, which they say can affect his body language, eye contact and physical behavior. They plan to ask whether that would have affected the jury’s view of Bankman-Fried.
Submission of questions indicates the trial is proceeding according to the scheduled schedule. In late August, Kaplan revoked Bankman-Fried’s bail and sent him to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Although his attorneys complained that Bankman-Fried did not have sufficient resources to prepare his defense, they declined to request a delay.
Svlook
