FROM: https://nypost.com/2022/01/06/juror-in-ghislaine-maxwell-mistrial-scandal-retains-anna-sorokins-lawyer/
The juror at the center of a convicted socialite’s bid for a mistrial has lawyered up with the attorney who represented “fake heiress” Anna Sorokin, new court documents show.
Lawyer Todd Spodek filed notice in Maxwell’s Manhattan federal case late Wednesday confirming he would now “appear in this case as counsel for JURY NUMBER 50.”
That juror is the man, who gave a series of interviews in which he admitted to swaying deliberations by recounting his own trauma from childhood sexual abuse.
The juror, who spoke using his first and middle names, said he couldn’t remember whether he revealed his tragic past during jury selection, as was required, throwing the socialite’s conviction into turmoil.
On Thursday, he emerged from his Midtown apartment with a suitcase and overnight bag - shielding his face from a Post photographer using a giant box of Cheez-Its.
A second juror told the New York Times Wednesday that they too had been sexually abused as a child - and that their story also appeared to help shape the jury’s discussions.
News of the revelations quickly led to the defense attorneys filing for a mistrial in the bombshell case that saw the fallen socialite convicted of procuring girls for her late pedophile ex.
The judge on Wednesday accepted the bid, announcing a timeline “for the Defense to move for a new trial in light of the issues raised.”
Her ruling also noted how prosecutors had called for counsel to be assigned for an inquiry into the juror who “has given several interviews to press outlets regarding his jury service in this case.”
In her order, the judge gave the juror’s attorney until Jan. 26 to brief the court on his behalf, with all the submissions and responses due in by Feb. 9 ready for a decision.
All the prospective jurors had been given questionnaires asking, among other things, if they or anyone in their families had experienced sexual abuse.
However, the juror, a 35-year-old Manhattan resident, told Reuters that he “flew through” the questionnaire and had no memory of mentioning his history of being abused.
“No they don’t ask your sexual abuse history. They didn’t ask it in the questionnaire,” he had told DailyMail.com, according to new segments of the interview published after the bid for a mistrial.
When the outlet pointed out that the question had been one of those asked, he reportedly said he “definitely remembered” filling out the questionnaire and “would have definitely marked, ‘Yes.’
“But I honestly don’t remember the question,” he insisted.
His new attorney, Spodek, has represented a series of high-profile clients, most recently Sorokin, the wannabe socialite who pretended to be the scion of a wealthy European family to scam banks, businesses and friends. He also repped a celebrity’s stalker.
“Mr. Spodek has earned a reputation for being honest, straightforward and hardworking,” his law firm bio reads.
“He is known for obtaining results through strategic negotiations and at trial,” it says of the married dad, who lives in Brooklyn.
It was not immediately clear if the second juror who spoke to the Times on the condition of anonymity was yet officially part of the same inquiry.
However, in their filings, Maxwell’s lawyers said that “all the deliberating jurors will need to be examined … to evaluate the Juror’s conduct.”
Maxwell, 60, faces up to 65 years in prison after being convicted. Her attorneys had already announced their intention to appeal even before the jury scandal.