
Huddled with Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers and prosecutors last week, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan gave the FTX founder's defense a simple reminder just outside the jury's earshot.
After just a few days, Judge Kaplan had honed in on the defense's use of the clock. Bankman-Fried's lawyer had used it's cross-examination of the DOJ witnesses to spend hours confirming facts and details of their testimony.
Several times, Judge Kaplan has said it isn't an appropriate use of the court's time. Bankman-Fried's trial is expected to last about six weeks. There is a lot to cover and the schedule's density has already caused at least one juror to nod off in court.
In the case, cross-examination allows Bankman-Fried's attorneys to point out weaknesses in witness testimony as the government presents its case. On multiple occasions, Kaplan said that Bankman-Fried's lawyers are straying into a superfluous summary.
Bankman-Fried is facing the possibility of decades behind bars, facing seven fraud and conspiracy charges that stem from his time as CEO of FTX and dozens of affiliate companies. Among alleged misdeeds, the former crypto mogul is accused of piling billions of FTX customer funds via his trading firm, Alameda Research, and misleading investors in FTX.
Daniel C. Silva, a former assistant U.S. attorney and shareholder at Buchalter, said Kaplan's patience could be wearing thin based on the judge's remarks. aside from fairness, Silva said that Kaplan's job is to ensure that Bankman-Fried's trial is as efficient as possible.
Questioning witnesses during cross-examination is an incredibly difficult area for Bankman-Fried's lawyers to score points with the jury, Silva said. He added that a common approach defense attorneys employ is death by 1,000 cuts, which feels far from pointed.
His lawyer, Silva, said that Kaplan will reign Bankman-Fried's lawyers in if he doesn't feel like the jury's time and attention is being used to make effective points. On Thursday, Kaplan had called attention to the repetition just before the court was adjourned for the day.
While the government initially signaled that two witnesses-BlockFi CEO Zac Prince and Pinecone VP of Product Elan Dekel-could've taken the stand after Wang, prosecutors said that former Alameda CEO Caroline Ellison will be called upon next, instead.
Ellison, who has pleaded guilty to criminal charges including Alameda and FTX, is expected to be a key witness against him. O'Brien said that change represents an apparent effort to streamline a case that's dragged on early.
re trying to take advantage of their momentum, while testimonies are still fresh in the memory of the jurors, he said. He went for the heart and really try to make hay out of the case early.