Elizabeth Holmes' lawyers stated before trial that Holmes had a "strong preference" to go unmasked in the courtroom, but she did not challenge the judge's decisions regarding mask-wearing. Photo by Nick Otto/AFP via Getty Images.
Before her fall from grace, Elizabeth Holmes’ ability to court and charm establishment luminaries fueled her meteoric rise as head of Silicon Valley blood-testing company Theranos. In her ongoing criminal fraud trial, she might be hoping she can work the same magic on jurors.
But could wearing a mask weaken her defense and make her less likable in the eyes of the jury?
That question appeared top of mind for her defense team in the run-up to her federal criminal trial, which began in August in San Jose, California. Her lawyers told Judge Edward Davila that she had a “strong preference” to go unmasked. But with COVID-19 cases trending upward because of the delta variant, the judge said he would allow only testifying witnesses to go without masks. Attorneys do not have to wear them while examining witnesses.
Judges across the country are balancing public health with the right to a fair trial. In some cases, they have left it to defendants to decide if they want to wear a mask in front of jurors. And while Holmes’ case is a high-profile example, the subject of mask-wearing and whether it helps or hinders defendants is broader concern for both civil and criminal defense lawyers. They know that the nuances of facial expressions and body language are as much a part of courtroom dramas as explosive witness testimony or damning smoking-gun evidence.
Link to the rest of the article. https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/do-face-coverings-help-or-hinder-defendants
