Maxwell’s trial is currently being held in New York City, where the daily average number of confirmed cases over the past week has reached 17,829. Because of this rising number of cases, Judge Alison J. Nathan has asked that jurors stay for an extra hour each day during their deliberations in order to prevent COVID-19 from disrupting the trial.
“We are very simply at a different place regarding the pandemic than we were only one week ago and we now face a high and escalating risk that jurors and/or trial participants may need to quarantine, thus…putting at risk our ability to complete this trial,” Nathan explained to the jury on Monday evening. “Accordingly, extending deliberations by an hour gives the jury more time each day to continue to engage in its thoughtful deliberations.”
However, Maxwell’s defense attorney Laura Menninger opposed the idea in court on Monday. She claimed that the idea of making the jury stay later sounded more like Nathan wants them to hurry up and make a decision on the case.
“We would object to trying to urge them to stay later if they are not asking to do so and aren’t expressing any difficulty in proceeding with the deliberations that they are currently undertaking,” she argued.
It is unknown whether the jury will abide by Nathan’s request. Maxwell has been charged with six federal counts involving sex trafficking, criminal sexual activity and conspiracy. She has pleaded not guilty to all counts. However, if she is convicted, she faces up to 70 years in prison.
Tuesday marked the fourth full day of deliberations as jurors decide Maxwell’s fate on the six charges alleging she played a crucial role in Epstein’s sexual abuse of teenage girls between 1994 and 2004.
Defense lawyers have said Maxwell, 60, is being used as a scapegoat by prosecutors after the U.S. government was embarrassed by Epstein’s suicide at a federal jail in Manhattan in August 2019 while he awaited a sex trafficking trial.
Maxwell was arrested in July 2020 and has remained in jail after Nathan repeatedly rejected bail attempts, including a $28.5 million package with 24-hour armed guards to ensure she did not flee.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
