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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 614 Filed 02/24/22 Page 2 of 12

INTRODUCTION

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (“NACDL”) represents approximately 40,000 criminal defense lawyers who often defend notorious or unpopular clients. See Motion for Leave to File Amicus Brief. We know from the experiences of our members that child sexual abuse cases are “the most difficult of all” for eliminating juror bias and we thus hold regular training programs concerning voir dire strategies in such cases. NACDL, What Are They Thinking?, https://www.nacdl.org/Event/2022-Midwinter-Meeting (program description). Even prosecutors agree that “[t]raditional voir dire questions . . . might not sufficiently address potential jurors’ emotional reactions to sexual assault cases,” and advocate more probative voir dire. Christopher Mallios & Toolsi Meisner, Educating Juries In Sexual Assault Cases, Strategies at 2 (2010), http://www.ncdsv.org/images/AEquitas_EducatingJuriesInSexualAssaultCasesPart1_7-2010.pdf. The reality of an unbiased jury is a structural prerequisite for a fair trial and, particularly in a notorious case such as this that has attracted international attention, the appearance that a fair and impartial jury has decided the defendant’s fate is essential for public respect and acceptance of the outcome. Imagine that a juror had failed to reveal profound bias against law enforcement, been permitted to sit on the jury and, after an acquittal, trumpeted her role in interviews with the press. The public would be asking what is wrong with the American trial process that could allow such a thing to happen, and the government would be investigating the juror for perjury.

Accurate answers from prospective jurors about their own experiences and attitudes are essential for follow-up questioning and the ultimate judgment of the parties and the court about which jurors should serve in the case at hand. In this case, Juror No. 50 gave untrue answers about the fundamental issue of whether he himself had been victimized by sexual abuse and could be fair and impartial in a sexual abuse case. The parties and the Court relied on the accuracy of his answers in allowing him to sit on the jury. Now that he has exposed his real experiences and

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