Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer challenges US gov’t proposed jury questions
The lawyer representing Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, has claimed that the proposed jury questions for the upcoming fraud trial will elicit biased responses.
In a court filing on Sept. 29, lawyer Mark Cohen, who is representing Bankman-Fried, contends that the jury questions presented by the United States government contain prejudice that could result in an unfair trial for Bankman-Fried.
He also argues that the language used in the jury selection questions already portrays a biased image, presuming Bankman-Fried’s guilt in fraud and money laundering.
Cohen stresses the importance of the court reminding potential jurors that Bankman-Fried is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Furthermore, Cohen argued that the court should use the voir dire proposed by Bankman-Fried.
However, Cointelegraph recently reported that the U.S. government opposed Bankman-Fried’s proposed questions, declaring them unnecessary and time-consuming.
Specifically, the U.S. government objected to his questions concerning pretrial publicity, the effective altruism philosophical movement, political donations and lobbying and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Related: FTX founder’s plea for temporary release should be denied, prosecution says
Jury selection will commence on Oct. 3, preceding the trial’s start on Oct. 4.
According to a recently released trial calendar, there will be 15 full trial days in October and another six in November.
Meanwhile, Bankman-Fried has been in detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center since August 11. U.S. Judge Lewis Kaplan has consistently refused his numerous requests for temporary release to prepare for the
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