Jury selection begins in high-profile trial of Theranos founder – archyworldys

Elizabeth Holmes, a former Silicon Valley star who promised to revolutionize blood testing with her start-up Theranos, attended the San José court on Tuesday at the jury selection to determine whether she was guilty of massive fraud .

About forty potential jurors were questioned. The magistrates notably sought to determine whether possible prejudices would not prevent them from rendering an impartial verdict, given the intense media coverage of the case for years.

Most of those summoned mentioned having read a headline or article, seen a documentary or even read a book on the subject, like that of John Carreyrou, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, who exposed the scandal in late 2015.

The candidates assured that they could take a neutral look at Elizabeth Holmes, who launched Theranos in 2003, at the age of 19.

The company planned to produce diagnostic tools on a large scale that were faster and cheaper than those in traditional laboratories, using methods that were supposed to allow up to 200 analyzes from a few drops of blood.

But the machines never worked. And according to the prosecution, the ex-entrepreneur lied to investors, doctors and patients to raise funds – more than 700 million dollars in all.

She faces up to 20 years in prison for the eleven charges against her – nine of fraud and two for criminal conspiracy. Prosecutors believe that she got along with Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, her former COO – and her lover for a time.

The two leaders are to be judged separately.

– Psychology –

“The accused is presumed innocent. It is up to the state to prove the reality of these charges beyond any possible doubt,” Judge Edward Davila told potential jurors.

He hopes that the defense and the prosecution will agree on twelve jurors by Wednesday evening. The debates will get to the heart of the matter on September 7.

But the questions already give indications of the strategies.

Kevin Downey, Elizabeth Holmes’ lawyer, asked if people had ever suffered “abuse in their intimate relationships”.

According to legal documents, the defendant plans to plead that her partner and ex-boyfriend, 19 years older than her, was controlling and abusing her psychologically.

Prosecutor Jeffrey Schenk asked him if there were any individuals close to medical circles in the room.

Those jurors may not be impartial if the prosecution brings in psychologists to counter the notion that Elizabeth Holmes was not responsible for her actions.

In matters of evidence, the jury will have to rely primarily on testimony.

The Theranos lab database was indeed handed over to the government on a hard drive in August 2018, but the company was subsequently dismantled, along with its servers, making the copy impossible to read.

On the list of potential witnesses, we find well-known names, such as former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Defense Minister James Mattis, who served on Theranos’ board of directors, or the tycoon. from the media Rupert Murdoch.

– A first for Silicon Valley –

Patients who were victims of faulty analyzes could also be called to the bar, to tell how they experienced bad diagnoses of cancer, AIDS or even pregnancies.

Elizabeth Holmes herself might decide to speak out.

For John Carreyrou, interviewed at the beginning of July on the American channel CNBC, “from all the interviews I conducted for my book and my podcast, it is clear that (the accused and her former partner) were running this company – and the possible fraud of which they are accused – as a couple of partners “.

Elizabeth Holmes experienced a fall all the more brutal as her fortune was estimated at 3.6 billion dollars by Forbes in 2014. She was then the youngest billionaire who did not inherit her fortune.

“So far, Silicon Valley has never paid for all its misdeeds,” commented AFP Vivek Wadhwa, former professor at Harvard law school and expert on the Theranos saga.

“So the fact that she could end up in jail makes it a very important matter, because it has never happened before. No one has gone to jail for the damage done by technology. And this technology has caused damage. wrongs. ”

The trial has been delayed several times, in particular because the defendant gave birth in early July. It could last up to four months.

gc-juj / led