Ghislaine Maxwell trial: Before defense begins case attorney falls ill, court postponed
The judge did not disclose whether the stricken party was a lawyer for the defense or prosecution
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before Ghislaine Maxwell's defense team was slated to begin their case in Manhattan federal court, the judge said Thursday an attorney was sick and told jurors to go home.
The prosecution was set to rest their case as early as Thursday afternoon, and Maxwell's lawyers could have launch their defense as early as Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Ghislaine Maxwell (United Nations Photo/Rick Bajornas via AP, File) (Elizabeth Williams via AP | United Nations Photo/Rick Bajornas via AP)
After a private discussion in the robing room, U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan made the announcement. "I've been informed that an attorney is ill," she said. "We have no reason to believe that it's COVID related." The judge did not indicate whether the stricken party was an attorney for the defense or prosecution.
"Today's testimony is adjourned and scheduled to resume tomorrow, due to the illness of an attorney in this case," said a spokesman for the Southern District of New York. "We urge you to respect the privacy of all parties to this litigation and not disclose the identity of that attorney."
Ghislaine Maxwell posing with Jeffrey Epstein in an undated evidence photo admitted at her trial. (SDNY)
GHISLAINE MAXWELL ALLEGEDLY TOLD TEEN SHE ‘HAD A GREAT BODY FOR MR. EPSTEIN AND HIS FRIENDS’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maxwell, 59, is charged with recruiting and grooming four girls to be abused by the late financier, Jeffrey Epstein, between 1994 and 2004.
Epstein, a convicted pedophile, hanged himself in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Maxwell, who has been locked up since her arrest, faces up to 70 years if convicted.