NEW YORK —
Attorneys for a British socialite are attempting to place conspiracy theories and different matters “a galaxy away” in entrance of a jury that may determine if she helped Jeffrey Epstein abuse teenage ladies, prosecutors instructed a decide Friday.
The federal government and defence legal professionals submitted arguments to the decide who will preside over the November trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, 59, who has been incarcerated since her July 2020 arrest on prices that she recruited teenage ladies for Epstein to sexually abuse and typically joined within the abuse.
She has pleaded not responsible. Epstein died at a Manhattan lockup in August 2019 whereas awaiting trial on intercourse trafficking prices. The demise was dominated a suicide.
The ultimate pretrial listening to is Monday. Potential jurors will fill out questionnaires later within the week and oral questioning of them will start in mid-November. Opening statements are scheduled for Nov. 29.
In Friday’s submission, prosecutors claimed the defence deliberate to create a “facet present” with extraneous topics.
They stated conspiracy theories the defence needs to introduce at trial embody claims concerning the authorities’s motives for charging Maxwell, “supposed proof referring to the Minor Victims’ consent,” statements Maxwell has made, proof of different abuse not involving Maxwell and proof that Maxwell prevailed in civil litigation.
“These matters are far afield — a galaxy away — from the questions of reality to be resolved by the jury. The Authorities is anxious that the protection plans to exceed its limits and, subsequently, has moved to preclude the protection from arguing them or providing proof of them,” prosecutors wrote.
Defence legal professionals countered that prosecutors had been attempting to “improperly receive advisory rulings” from the decide and had been attempting to “prematurely, and unconstitutionally, drive Ms. Maxwell to disclose protection theories, methods, and cross-examination.”
They stated it was too quickly to restrict proof as a result of the decide “lacks the required information to make clever rulings.”
The legal professionals wrote that prosecutors had been in search of to preclude proof or arguments that the accusers consented to sexual contact. They argue that sure proof from accusers who had been underage on the time of the alleged sexual abuse could also be admissible.
They stated the age of consent for sexual contact functions varies relying on the state and nation.
New York defines a minor as an individual beneath the age of 17; Florida considers it beneath the age of 18; the UK beneath the age of 16; France beneath the age of 15; and New Mexico doesn’t have a selected age of consent statute however criminalizes all sexual contact of a minor beneath the age of 13 when coercion or drive is concerned, the legal professionals stated.
