Proposed Jury Questions for the Upcoming SBF/FTX Criminal Trial Shed Light on Defense's Strategy
This week, SBF’s defense team filed a proposed jury questionnaire for the Court to consider adding to the standard set of questions posed to potential jurors. According to the defense, these questions aim to identify any biases or preconceived notions that may affect a juror's ability to be impartial. If a juror's response indicates a need for deeper probing, the Court is urged to delve further. The goal is to determine if any particular fact or situation would sway the juror towards or against either the defendant or the Government.
Some the proposed questions also provide some insight into what the defense strategy will be a trial. For example, the defense proposed the following questions:
Effective Altruism
1. Do you have any negative opinion about amassing wealth to support causes to improve the world or help others? If so, what is your opinion and why?
2. Have you heard of, or are you familiar with, a philosophical movement called “Effective Altruism” or “EA”?
3. Is there anything you have read, seen, or heard about Effective Altruism that would make it hard for you to be a fair and impartial juror in this case?
D. Political Donations / Lobbying
1. Do you think it is wrong to contribute large amounts of money to political candidates or lobbying groups, such as “PACS,” as a general principle?
2. Do you think it is wrong for people to contribute money to political candidates or lobbying groups to help their interests?
E. ADHD
1. The defendant in this case has ADHD, which might affect things like his physical behavior, body language, or eye contact. Please raise your hand if you have never had any personal or professional experience with ADHD.
2. If you have never had any personal or professional experience with ADHD, do you have any opinion about the fact that the defendant has ADHD?
a. If so, what is your opinion?
b. Could you completely ignore that if you were a juror in this case?
Meanwhile, the government filed its own set of proposed jury questions for the Court to consider. In addition to pretty routine qualifying questions for potential jurors, the the government is also focused on juror attitudes and experience with crypto:
During this trial, you will hear evidence regarding the defendant’s role as the chief executive officer of FTX.com, a cryptocurrency exchange, where customers could buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and evidence regarding his role at Alameda Research, the investment firm he founded and owned. Do you have any familiarity with FTX.com or Alameda Research? Are any of you familiar with, or have you had any dealings, directly or indirectly, with FTX, Alameda Research, or their affiliates?
You will hear evidence in this case about cryptocurrency and about transactions that occurred on what is known as a blockchain, or a networked database of transactions. Have you invested in cryptocurrency, or digital assets more broadly? Do you have any familiarity with cryptocurrency or digital assets?
Do you have any beliefs or experiences about cryptocurrency or digital assets or the government’s role or regulation concerning cryptocurrency that would interfere with your ability to fairly evaluate this evidence in this trial or follow my instructions on the law?
Have any of you, or your family members or close friends, ever worked in the cryptocurrency industry, for a hedge fund, or in the financial industry? Will your experience affect your ability to be fair and impartial in this case
Have you ever lost money from an investment due not to market forces or other innocuous reasons, but instead due to fraudulent conduct? Will your past investment experience affect your ability to be fair and impartial in this case?
42. Is there anything about your own investment experience, or your views on the financial services industry more broadly, that will affect your ability to be fair and impartial in this case?
Trial is set to begin on October 3, 2023.