Ghislaine Maxwell Has Her Trial Postponed After Getting Hit With A Superseded Indictment

Ghislaine Maxwell’s federal trial was originally scheduled to begin on July 12, 2021, but it was postponed after prosecutors filed a superseding indictment adding new sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell’s lawyers argued that the additional allegations significantly expanded the case and left them without enough time to examine the new evidence, conduct further investigations and prepare an adequate defense. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan agreed that a limited delay was justified, particularly because pandemic restrictions had already complicated meetings between Maxwell and her attorneys and slowed the review of an enormous amount of discovery. The judge rejected the idea of forcing the defense to proceed under a compressed timetable and moved the case into the fall.

The postponement pushed jury selection into November, with opening statements eventually beginning on November 29, 2021. Although the defense had sought more preparation time, the delay also prolonged Maxwell’s detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where she and her lawyers repeatedly complained about restrictive and deteriorating conditions. Prosecutors maintained that they were prepared to proceed and opposed any unnecessarily lengthy postponement, while the court attempted to balance Maxwell’s right to prepare her defense against the public and the survivors’ interest in seeing the case resolved. The trial ultimately went forward more than four months after its original start date, ending with Maxwell’s conviction on five federal charges in December 2021.


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