Prosecutors in the case against former FTX exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) have raised objections to the defense’s proposed questions for jury selection. Bankman-Fried stands accused of several fraud-related offenses, including wire fraud against FTX customers. In a recent development, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has criticized the nature of these questions, citing them as unnecessarily intrusive and time-consuming.

The DOJ’s Objection:

On September 15, the DOJ expressed its concerns regarding the defense’s proposed voir dire questions to Judge Lewis Kaplan of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The prosecutors argued that the defense’s questions contained numerous inquiries that veered beyond the purpose of voir dire.

The DOJ specifically found fault with open-ended questions related to the opinions potential jurors may have formed about the case, the defendant, and the defendant’s companies. They deemed such inquiries as unnecessarily intrusive. Voir dire, which translates to “to speak the truth” in French, denotes a preliminary examination of a jury pool or witness by the court or counsel.

Objections to Topics Raised:

The prosecutors took issue with several sections of the proposed questions, including those related to pretrial publicity, effective altruism (the use of resources to help others), political donations, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Regarding the questions about effective altruism, the DOJ alleged that they were an attempt to cast Bankman-Fried in a positive light, possibly strengthening the defense’s position. The prosecutors emphasized that voir dire was not the appropriate platform to portray the defendant as a philanthropist aiming to make the world a better place.

Moreover, the DOJ argued that raising ADHD as a topic was both irrelevant and prejudicial. They contended that such inquiries would improperly elicit sympathy for Bankman-Fried at the start of the trial. The prosecution urged the court to prevent the mention of the defendant’s mental health or symptomatic body language to the jury.

DOJ’s Request for Standard, Neutral, and Appropriate Questions:

Ultimately, the Department of Justice requested that the court employ its own voir dire, stating that their proposed questions were standard, neutral, and appropriate. The objective was to ensure a fair and impartial jury selection process, free from any potential biases or attempts to sway opinions.

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