5/17/2023 0 Comments Elizabeth holmes voice“She is clearly a very compelling person,” Kreitzberg said, noting the connection and concern expressed by investors such as former Secretary of Defense James Mattis, even after their business relationships didn’t live up to their promises.īut, she said, “that magnetic presence is not coming through in the courtroom where she is distanced, not speaking, and she’s masked. In the courtroom itself, Holmes sits upright and remains still, listening attentively, rarely speaking to her lawyers or taking notes, Kreitzberg said. During jury selection in late August, Holmes attempted to make eye contact with each potential juror, CNBC reported. As a teenager, Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO after whom Holmes modeled herself, perfected the habit of staring at people without blinking in order to intimidate them, according to Jobs’ biographer, Walter Isaacson. Holmes had a “sort of ethereal quality,” former Secretary of State and Theranos board member Henry Kissinger told The New Yorker in 2014.Įx-employees and journalists who have interviewed Holmes have documented her habit of making unblinking eye contact. Steve Burd, former CEO of Safeway, which lost close to $400 million in a collapsed deal with Theranos, said during testimony last month that she had the power to command a whole room, which he compared to that of U.S. Witnesses have testified that Holmes has a unique ability to captivate attention. So it is surprising that these jurors were selected for the jury in the first place." "Jurors’ religious beliefs and financial hardship that would make it difficult for them to serve ordinarily would be identified during jury selection. The reasons for losing them also are unusual at this stage of the proceedings," Roth said. “This is an unusual number of jurors to lose at this stage of the trial. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University. The number and nature of the dismissals are atypical, said Jessica Roth, professor of law at the Benjamin N. A couple of unexpected illnesses, family emergencies or just episodes of poor judgment - and the court will be faced with the prospect of losing a twelfth juror and the capacity to get to a verdict,” MacDougall said. “Every jury will experience some attrition when a trial runs for this long. More could be added if the defense calls witnesses. Trial days are currently scheduled through early December, according to the judge’s calendar. “Having just two alternates, with the government only about half way through its case after two months, suggests the real risk of a mistrial,” said Mark MacDougall, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. Legal experts were astonished by the sympathetic feelings expressed by the juror toward Holmes and said the dismissals are troubling at this stage in the proceedings. “It’s my first time in this situation and it’s her future.” “She’s so young,” the alternate said of Holmes. “That’s unusual.”Īnother alternate juror was dismissed last week for playing Sudoku, which she said prevented her from being “fidgety” and helped her focus.Īnd another alternate expressed concern that English was not her first language and it could cause her to make a mistake. “I never had a juror say anything like that in my life,” Cevallos said. One juror was dismissed after serving a month, saying that her Buddhist principles of forgiveness would fill her with intractable guilt were she to render a guilty verdict that sent Holmes to jail. The trial started in September with 12 jurors and five alternates and is now down to just two alternates. Holmes’ presence has already had an impact on the jury, playing a role in the dismissal of one juror and causing a moment of hesitation before an alternate was sworn in. Kreitzberg also believes Holmes won’t testify, making any nonverbal communication from the failed blood-testing startup founder all the more important. “It gives the jury something to hang on to, and something the defense is doing quite effectively.” If you see her in this setting in the courtroom, figuring out her intent becomes more complex,” Kreitzberg told NBC News. “You’re asking jurors to go into her mind and ask what her thinking was. Creating an alternate possible narrative beside that of a corner-cutting and greedy CEO is critical for the defense in a case in which the jury will be asked to determine whether the alleged fraud was intentional.
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