Day 13 - December 18, 2021
Judge Nathan resolved jury-charge and verdict-sheet language, addressed proposed instructions, and set procedures for Monday's closings.
Full day summary
1. Charging Conference
Judge Nathan and counsel revised the draft jury charge and verdict sheet before the jury entered, resolving several proposed instructions and setting remaining submissions and closing procedures.
Highlights
Charging ConferencerulingThe court removed references to foreign commerce throughout the charge after the government withdrew its request to retain that language for Counts Five and Six.Charging ConferencerulingJudge Nathan overruled the defense request for a separate causation instruction for persuasion, inducement, and enticement, retaining the standard instruction.Charging ConferencerulingThe court revised overt-act language, including deleting the Kate overt act and removing a reference that Maxwell sent Carolyn gifts, while preserving the court's earlier view of Annie's testimony.Charging ConferencerulingThe court retained a conscious-avoidance instruction after hearing the parties' dispute over whether Maxwell's knowledge of victims' ages and the purposes of travel were in issue.Charging Conference“any inference argued had better be from the transcript or the documents”— Alison J. NathanThe court directed both sides to ground closing arguments in the trial record.Charging Conferenceprocedural actionThe court approved verdict-sheet terminology conforming the counts to age-specific language and set Monday procedures for closings, admitted exhibits, and sealed presentation material.