Ghislaine Maxwell's lawyers again call for a retrial over juror 50's 'inconsistent answers'
Daily MailMar 16, 2022
Maxwell's lawyers have challenged juror Scotty David's explanation, that he was distracted during his screening questionnaire, for omission of his sexual abuse experiences. David made statements to the press about his own childhood experiences following Maxwell's trial.
They have also argued a second juror lied about their experience of sexual assault, meaning Maxwell only had 10 impartial jurors.
Even if Maxwell's lawyers cannot meet the exceptionally high bar for a new trial to be ordered, it doesn't mean she received fair legal treatment. David is evidently still affected by a set of egregious and traumatizing experiences that colored his judgement as a juror. Some of his statements have been implausible or inconsistent, and he clearly sees himself as an advocate for victims rather than a neutral arbiter of the facts.
Jurors should never have been asked about their history of sexual abuse in the first place. The questions asked of David, and others, sends entirely the wrong message about impartiality and implies that those who experience something as pervasive as sexual violence make for defective jurors. Exclusively choosing people who've had no first-hand experience of harassment, abuse or assault makes for juries potentially biased by prejudicial views.