Maxwell lawyer Bobbi Starheim wrote Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan stating that the motion for a retrial had been filed under seal. She requested that all submissions relating to “Juror Number. 50 will remain sealed until the Court rules.
Maxwell’s lawyers had promised a new trial. They were concerned about Maxwell’s media interviews after the verdict in which a juror claimed he was sexually abused as an infant. The Independent and The Daily Mail were told by an anonymous juror that his experience had helped him convince some jurors to believe that victims’ imperfect memories of sex abuse don’t necessarily mean that it didn’t occur.
Nathan had given Maxwell’s attorneys until Wednesday to file for a fresh trial. He also said that prosecutors should respond by February 2.
Maxwell, 60 years old, was convicted of conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse teenage girls. Her sentencing date is yet to be determined.
Maxwell’s lawyers previously stated that the request for a fresh trial would include all known undisputed statements of the juror along with recordings and the questionnaire all jurors completed. Potential jurors were asked to complete a questionnaire asking “Have any of your friends or family members ever been victims of sexual harassment, abuse, or assault?”
According to prosecutors, the jury stated that he had “flew through” the questionnaire but didn’t remember being asked if it was sex abuse. Prosecutors demanded that any jury investigation be conducted “exclusively under the supervision” of the Court. The juror retained a lawyer.
Maxwell maintained her innocence and her family promised to appeal her conviction. Her lawyers vigorously opposed the charges against Maxwell during trial. They argued that she was being used by prosecutors to make Epstein guilty of crimes. This is after Epstein, a financier and convicted sex-offender, committed suicide while awaiting trial in 2019.
