Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos, arrives at the motion hearing on Monday, November 4, 2019, at the US District Court inside the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in San Jose, California.
Yichuan Cao | NurPhoto | Getty Images
Elizabeth Holmes received a six-week delay until the trial began on Wednesday, as the government said it had been sidelined by news that she was pregnant and expecting to give birth in July.
The trial will now begin on August 31.
Holmes appeared Wednesday in a Zoom call, in which U.S. Assistant Prosecutor Robert Leach said prosecutors were told about Holmes’ pregnancy only on March 2, adding that “it’s frustrating and disappointing to find out about this now.”
Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, was allegedly five months pregnant at the time.
Despite repeated delays in her trial, Kevin Downey, one of her defense attorneys, said she was “eager to challenge the charges. Based on medical advice that we set this program at a rate that would be faster than six weeks after birth would be aggressive and not recommended. “
The unexpected news leads some legal experts to wonder if being a new mother will help influence a jury in favor of Holmes.
“Whether conscious or unconscious, judges, prosecutors and jurors may be concerned about the effect of maternal incarceration on a newborn in a way they do not do when the defendant is a man,” said Danny Cevallos, a legal analyst. of NBC news.
“Being a new mother can only get the sympathy of the jurors,” he said.
Holmes faces a dozen charges of fraud for her late Silicon-Valley startup. She founded Theranos and promised to revolutionize healthcare as a 19-year-old from Stanford. Theranos was once valued at $ 9 billion and had a star plate before it collapsed in 2018.
“If she is convicted, even if the guidelines for convictions require imprisonment, her lawyers will place the maternity ward before the judge,” Cevallos said.
A study by Sonja Starr, a professor of criminal law at the University of Chicago, shows that statistically a woman is less likely to be convicted and less likely to receive a longer sentence than a man.
His findings show “unexplained dramatic gender gaps in federal criminal cases. Conditional on arrest offenses, criminal records and other observable before the indictment, men receive sentences 63 percent longer than women. Women are also more likely to avoid charges and convictions, and twice as likely to avoid incarceration if convicted. “
Her study further states that “mentioning childcare has reduced the likelihood of judges recommending imprisonment.”
“In short, the interaction between family status and gender seems to be more substantial than the formal legal mechanism for accommodating family difficulties can explain.”
As questions arose as to whether a new mother would help her with the jury, former Holmes associates told CNBC that they were not surprised by the news of her pregnancy. Holmes had met the hotel’s heir, Billy Evans, however, his father’s identity is unknown.
Holmes is awaiting trial on charges that could lead to a maximum of 20 years in prison.