Ghislaine Maxwell's request to block public, media from jury selection denied by NYC Judge

A federal judge on Thursday, 21 October, denied a request from Ghislaine Maxwell to block the public and media outlet from jury selection in her trial and to keep a jury questionnaire under seal. According to the Associated Press, Maxwell’s lawyer had argued that the measures were necessary to effectively screen for potential bias and for exposure to a “tsunami” of publicity about the high-profile sex-trafficking case. However, US District Judge Alison J. Nathan rejected Maxwell’s bid and said that the press and public will be allowed to view the selection proceedings next month via video feeds to an overflow courtroom and a courthouse press room. 

It is to be noted that Maxwell has been accused accomplice of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The proposal from Maxwell’s defence team, which federal prosecutors opposed, would have been a departure from typical procedure in the Manhattan federal court where her trial is scheduled. But, in the ruling, Judge Nathan on Thursday said that she strove to balance the public’s right to access court proceedings with health measures, such as adding extra space between parties, that have been put in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We’re all aware that there’s been intense media and public interest in this case. ... These procedures will ensure the First Amendment rights to public access as is necessary and required by law,” Nathan said. 

Request to keep jury questionnaire under seal denied

Further, the District judge also denied a defence request to prevent the public from seeking the blank questionnaire that will be given to about 600 people who will be summoned as prospective jurors in the high-profile case. Now, according to AP, the selection of 12 primary jurors and six alternates is scheduled to begin on November 4, with opening statements set for November 29. Nathan said that for selection primary jurors, the defence will have 10 preemptory challenges and the prosecution will have six. She added that for alternates, each side will get three challenges. 

“​​If a jury is going to lie and be dishonest, we will smoke that out. And the fact of this questionnaire being publicly documented is not going to increase or decrease any such likelihood,” Nathan said. 

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that Nathan has pleaded not guilty to charges that she recruited teenage girls from 1994 to 2004 for Epstein to sexually abuse during encounters that sometimes were described as sexualised messages. It has also been alleged that Maxwell groomed a 14-year-old girl to recruit other young females in return for cash. Since her arrest in July 2020, the 59-year-old has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. Epstein, on the other hand, killed himself at a Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019, a month after his arrest on sex trafficking charges. 

(With inputs from AP)