Opinion
20-CR-330 (AJN)
11-15-2021
United States of America, v. Ghislaine Maxwell, Defendant.
ORDER
ALISON J. NATHAN, District Judge:
Attached is a copy of the final jury questionnaire, which is the same as Dkt. No. 365, docketed on October 22, 2021, except that it incorporates the redline changes.
SO ORDERED.
JURY QUESTIONNAIRE
INSTRUCTION SHEET
Dear Juror:
Please call (212) 805 0158 on November 15, 2021 after 6:00 p.m. for further reporting instructions. Please bring this instruction sheet with you to the courthouse if you are instructed to return.
Juror ID: ___
[INSERT JUROR INFORMATION SHEET FROM JURY DEPARTMENT]
Juror ID: ___
PRELIMINARY INSTRUCTIONS
Please read the following instructions carefully before completing any portion of this questionnaire. Please print your juror number in the space provided at the top of each page. Do not write your name on the questionnaire. Please answer each and every question fully. Some questions have more than one part.
YOU ARE SWORN TO GIVE TRUE AND COMPLETE ANSWERS TO ALL QUESTIONS IN THIS QUESTIONNAIRE. This questionnaire is designed to help simplify and shorten the jury selection process. The purpose of the questionnaire is to determine whether prospective jurors can decide this case impartially based upon the evidence presented at trial and the legal instructions given by the presiding judge. The questions are not intended to inquire unnecessarily into personal matters. Although some of the questions may appear to be of a personal nature, please understand that the Court and the parties must learn enough information about each juror's background and experiences to select a fair and impartial jury.
Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. If you do not know the answer to a question then write, “I don't know.” There are no “right” or “wrong” answers, only truthful answers. If you have strong feelings about this case in general, please do not hesitate to share them. Although you may be a perfectly good juror in another case, this may or may not be the right case for you to sit on as an impartial juror. Both parties have the right to get honest answers and to hear your true opinions. Do not discuss the case or your answers with anyone. It is important that the answers be yours alone. Remember, you are sworn to give true and complete answers to all questions.
If you need extra space to answer any question, please use the extra blank sheets of paper included at the end of the questionnaire. Be sure to indicate on the blank page the number of the question you are answering. Do not write anything on the back of any page.
DO NOT DISCUSS YOUR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS OR THE CASE WITH ANYONE, NOW OR UNTIL FURTHER INSTRUCTED BY THE COURT. You should not discuss the questions or answers with fellow jurors. It is very important that your answers be your own individual answers. More broadly, do not discuss the case with anyone, including the lawyers (except in the presence of the Court), your fellow jurors, your family, your friends, or anyone else. Do not communicate about the case in any way, including telephone, e-mail, any social media app or website (such as Facebook), any communications app or website (such as Twitter). You must also avoid reading or hearing about the case (or anyone participating in the case) in newspapers, in magazines, on the radio or television, or on the Internet.
DO NOT DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON THE CASE. Do not conduct any research into the case (or anyone participating in the case) at any time before your entire jury service has been completed. That includes performing Internet searches, asking other people about the case, reading news stories, books, or reports about the case, or watching films or television programs that relate to the case. Do not read, watch, or listen to any information about this case.
Juror ID: ___
Your name will not be disclosed or connected to this questionnaire beyond the Judge and the parties in this case. However, if you believe that any of your answers contain private information that could embarrass you or otherwise seriously compromise your privacy and wish to request that the Court keep them confidential and not distribute them beyond the Judge and parties, please indicate the particular question number at the end of the questionnaire.
SUMMARY OF THE CASE
The Court is selecting a jury for a trial commencing on Monday, November 29, 2021. Although it is never possible to predict the length of a trial, currently this trial is expected to last approximately six weeks.
This is a criminal case. The Defendant, Ghislaine Maxwell, has been charged in an Indictment with various criminal offenses. The Indictment is not evidence. It simply contains the charges-referred to as “counts”-that the Government intends to prove to the jury at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.
The charges in the Indictment stem from allegations that from at least 1994 through 2004, the Defendant conspired with and aided and abetted Jeffrey Epstein to entice minors to travel to engage in criminal sexual activity, to transport minors to engage in criminal sexual activity, and to engage in sex trafficking of a minor.
The Indictment charges the Defendant in 6 counts: Count One of the Indictment charges the Defendant with conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein and others to entice minors to travel to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. Count Two charges the Defendant with enticing a minor to travel to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense, and aiding and abetting the same. Count Three charges the Defendant with conspiring with Epstein and others to transport minors to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense. Count Four charges the Defendant with transporting a minor to engage in sexual activity for which a person can be charged with a criminal offense, and aiding and abetting the same. Count Five charges the Defendant with participating in a sex trafficking conspiracy. Count Six charges the Defendant with sex trafficking of a minor, and aiding and abetting the same.
Ms. Maxwell has pled not guilty to all charges. Ms. Maxwell is presumed innocent, and before she can be found guilty on any charge, the jury must find that the Government has proven each element of that crime beyond a reasonable doubt.
Juror ID: ____
SCHEDULE
Potential jurors will be called back for further questioning and jury selection from Tuesday, November 16, 2021, through Friday, November 19, 2021. Your availability during that week will be required.
The trial will commence on Monday, November 29, 2021. The trial is expected to last about six weeks. Generally, trial will be held five days per week, Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Trial will not be held on Friday, December 24, 2021 (Christmas Eve Day) and Friday, December 31, 2021 (New Year's Eve).
If you are selected as a juror, you will be required to be present for the taking of testimony and evidence for as long as the trial lasts. There are no plans to sequester the jury, which means you will go home every day after court.
All jury service involves some degree of hardship. Our court and justice system depends on citizens doing their civic duty to serve as jurors, which involves temporarily putting aside their regular business for jury service. The Court views service on a jury to be one of the highest duties a citizen owes to the United States. Mere inconvenience or the usual financial hardship of jury service will not be sufficient to excuse a prospective juror. You must show extraordinary personal or financial hardship to be excused from service.