Court Responds To Sam Bankman-Fried’s Request To Be Jailed Only On Weekends

On August 18, lawyers of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) requested that their client only be jailed on weekends and released on weekdays to work on his defense. US District Judge Kaplan has made an order to that effect but it is a far cry from the initial request of his lawyers. 

Sam Bankman-Fried To Meet Lawyers For 6.5 Hours

Judge Kaplan has approved for the FTX founder to meet with his lawyers. The order, however, comes with certain limitations as SBF will meet with his counsel on August 22 in the “Marshal’s cell block attorney room, from approximately 8:30 a.m. until approximately 3 p.m.” 

SBF and his lawyers will also have access to the internet for the duration of the meeting as Judge Kaplan approved for his counsel to bring “one” internet-enabled laptop and one Wifi device to the courthouse.

Additionally, the order categorically stated that other requests made by SBF’s lawyers were denied, suggesting that the court had considered the weekly bail request and concluded that it was unfounded. 

Going by this, they will undoubtedly feel disgruntled with the disparity between their initial request for a weekday bail and a one-off bail that Judge Kaplan eventually granted.

Interestingly, SBF’s lawyers had deemed the “extraordinary accommodations” the prosecutors had made for SBF as “entirely inadequate.” Prosecutors reportedly agreed to give him two days a week to review the evidence against him and prepare for his upcoming trial on October 2. 

Prosecutors had further alleged that they had made provisions for SBF to use the computers at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) to review the electronic evidence against him.

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Prosecutors Provide Guidelines For SBF’s Jury

In a separate document filed on August 21, US prosecutors stipulated their requests to the court on the instructions which should be given to the jury. The request bordered on matters such as the burden of proof, rulings on evidence and objections, the credibility of witnesses, and verdict of guilt or innocence, among others.

The filing categorically states that SBF has been charged with an indictment. But this indictment simply refers to an accusation and not evidence in itself. Additionally, Sam Bankman-Fried is being charged with seven counts of fraud-related crimes. 

The prosecutors have requested that the jury consider all counts separately and give a separate verdict (whether guilty or not guilty) for each. This simply means that the jury is meant to decide whether the prosecution has sufficiently discharged the burden of proof placed upon them for each charge that they are accusing SBF of. The jury’s verdict of guilt or innocence is expected to be unanimous.

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