Ghislaine Maxwell Trial: Jury selection strays into questions of cop shows and fishing

When Ghislaine Maxwell came face-to-face with prospective jurors for her federal court sex trafficking trial in Manhattan on Tuesday morning, their candor brought moments of comedy to the staid process of jury selection – including a discussion of a famed TV police procedural and an exchange about fishing.

Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime associate of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is charged alleged sex crimes connected to him. Jeffrey Epstein’s shadow looms over start of Ghislaine Maxwell’s US trial Read more Maxwell, 59, was arrested in July 2020 at a secretive estate in Bradford, a small town in New Hampshire. She is charged with sex crimes, conspiracy and perjury related to the actions of the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, while awaiting sex trafficking charges.

After Maxwell’s arrest, Audrey Strauss, then acting US attorney in Manhattan, said the daughter of the late British press tycoon Robert Maxwell “played a critical role in helping Epstein to identify, befriend and groom minor victims” and “in some cases, Maxwell participated in the abuse”.

The indictment charges that Maxwell “would try to normalize sexual abuse for a minor victim by, among other things, discussing sexual topics, undressing in front of the victim, being present when a minor victim was undressed, and/or being present for sex acts involving the minor victim and Epstein”.

The indictment also says Maxwell attempted to hide her involvement in Epstein’s crimes, providing untrue information “under oath” amid civil litigation. That case was a defamation suit filed against Maxwell by Virginia Giuffre, a longtime Epstein accuser. The judge has ruled that the perjury counts will be tried separately.

Earlier this year one of our relatives in his mid 50’ ended up as an alternate juror in a serious child abuse trial.

He tried my get out jury duty by saying the defendant was guilty and should get the book thrown at him.

That removed him from the main jury, but he had to stay as an alternate.

He couldn’t really answer their questions of tv watching, books and personal computer use. Basically there was no there, there..

With the exception SF Giants, he doesn’t watch tv including any news. He and his wife’s choice of music is basically that of my wife and I. He does scan the newspaper’s electronic edition for his city. He has a classic library of good authors when he grew up, and he still reads them. His wife like mine is a voracious reader, and she gives him short reports on the 3-4 Kindle books per week she reads.

When questioned about the above by the DA, our son told him that he was a very bland person. The DA challenged him and our son told him to ask the deputy sheriff/court guard about how bland he and his family were. They have known each other for over 40 years.

The deputy replied if most people were like him and his family, the judge, DA, defendant lawyer and cops would not be needed.

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