Back in Court, Holmes Looks on Verge of Small Win

Judge suggests it could be 'dangerous' for jurors to hear details of her luxury lifestyle
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 7, 2021 7:45 AM CDT
Back in Court, Holmes Looks on Verge of Small Win
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, left, leaves the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in downtown San Jose, Calif., on May 4, 2021.   (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group via AP)

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' trial on fraud charges is still months away, but she was back in court for the first time in more than a year this week as the sides argued over what information should be included. The argument about whether jurors should hear about Holmes' luxury lifestyle played out on a third day of hearings Thursday in federal court in San Jose, Calif. In addition to information on her salary, which attorneys said was "a couple hundred thousand a year," prosecutors want jurors to hear details on things like personal shopping and private jet travel that they say could show Holmes was willing to commit fraud to maintain a life of abundance, per the Wall Street Journal. It's just one of a number of things lawyers for Holmes, once thought to be worth $4.5 billion, are aiming to block.

The Journal notes defense attorneys also made the case that violations logged by the FDA and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should be excluded because they could be misread of signs of guilt. "The jury could convict based on violation of a regulation, that’s the danger," an attorney for Holmes told US District Judge Edward Davila. Davila, who heard arguments on more than 20 motions related to what jurors might hear, did not rule on any of them, though he appeared to be leaning toward disallowing information on Holmes' lifestyle, per the Mercury News. "It seems like that's designed to engage a class conversation amongst the jurors which I think you'd agree would be a little dangerous," he told prosecutors. Holmes' trial, most recently delayed due to Holmes' pregnancy, is set to begin in late August. She's pleaded not guilty. (More Elizabeth Holmes stories.)

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