A federal judge this week sent home jurors who weren’t vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 during jury selection for the trial of Elizabeth Holmes , …
A federal judge this week sent home jurors who weren’t vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 during jury selection for the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, an Obama nominee, dismissed on Thursday in California nine jurors were had not received a COVID-19 vaccine. 19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. Davila said his aim was to keep jurors and their families healthy. Both the prosecution and defense in the Holmes’ trial backed the decision. Experts said the decision may fall within the court’s ability but could reduce the fairness of trials. “If you excuse those people, you no longer have a representative jury,” said Christina Marinakis, a jury consultant with litigation consulting company IMS. “Any unusual restrictions on who is eligible to serve on the jury in a particular case could raise issues on appeal,” added Kaspar Stoffelmayr, of the law firm Bartlit Beck. Stoffelmayr confronted the question earlier this year, as the lawyer for Walgreens Boots Alliance in litigation over the pharmacy operator’s alleged role in fueling the opioid epidemic.
