A court illustrator showed off Judge Gislain and Alison Nathan at a pretrial hearing in New York. (Photo: Gallo Pictures/Reuters)
The face-to-face jury chose to start the trial of Gislan Maxwell on Tuesday, the British socialite accused of sexually abusing underage girls for the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Here is an explanation of how the process will work:
What happened so far?
Between November 4th and November 12th, more than 600 prospective jurors filled out questionnaires, asking them about their knowledge of Maxwell and Epstein and their own experiences of sexual abuse or assault.
What is the next step?
In the initial selection, the U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan planned to personally interview 231 people, a process called voir dire.
Nathan will ask potential jurors whether they know any of the Maxwell accusers who will testify in court, and whether they have opinions about people with “luxury lifestyles” that would prevent them from maintaining justice.
Due to the personal nature of many issues, the prospective juror will appear separately before Nathan and the lawyers of both parties.
Nathan will fire candidates whose answers indicate that they may be biased. This is called a strike for cause. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers can oppose these rulings and raise follow-up questions.
Read also | Ghislaine Maxwell challenges her claim of cultivating underage girls for Epstein
Nathan said she hopes to have 50 to 60 qualified jurors by the end of November 19. Then the lawyers of both parties will select dozens of jurors to be removed from the jury without explaining the reason-it is called a forced strike.
The opening speech is scheduled for November 29th. The trial is expected to last six weeks.
How many people will serve on the jury?
The Manhattan Federal Court jury will consist of 12 jurors and 6 alternates.
Who will be a member of the jury?
Due to the sensitive nature of the case and the personal questions that will be asked during the jury selection process, the identity of the juror will not be made public.
The jury members came from Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as some suburbs in northern New York City.
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