A possible suicide attempt involving Jeffrey Epstein added a layer of complication to the financier's child sex-trafficking and conspiracy case, but attorneys said Thursday it likely would not slow the pace of proceedings, which appeared to be on a fast track toward trial.

Media reports Thursday morning indicated that Epstein, 66, had been found unconscious Tuesday in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Center with marks on his neck. The reports cited unnamed law enforcement sources who said the physical injuries were not serious, but that prison officials were treating the incident as a possible suicide attempt.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said Thursday that Epstein was housed at MCC, but declined to comment any further on the incident.

“As with all inmates, for privacy and security reasons, we do not share information on an inmate's medical status or their conditions of confinement,” the agency said.

The development came a week after U.S. Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York denied Epstein's bail request to be detained at his Upper East Side townhouse while he awaited trial.

Berman's July 18 decision, which found Epstein to be both a flight risk and a danger to the community, was seen as likely to place the case on the fast track to trial later this year, attorneys interview for this story said.

Typically, prosecutors and judges push cases along when a defendant has been remanded to federal custody, and there was little incentive for Epstein's attorneys to try to slow the proceedings with their client remanded to government custody. But news of Epstein's suspected suicide attempt, while jarring, was unlikely to alter that calculus, sources said.

“If anything, it could speed it up,” said Jaimie Nawaday, a former SDNY prosecutor and partner with Kelley Drye & Warren in Manhattan.

Nawaday said it's not uncommon for defendants to slip into a state of despair after an arrest and remand as the likelihood of a long incarceration begins to set in. From a health perspective, she said, the resources available to defendants pre-trial are more limited than they would be in prison following a conviction, and there would be little upside for the defense to ask for a delay in light of a suspected suicide attempt.

Charles Ross, a criminal defense attorney with Mintz & Gold, said that Epstein's team could potentially point to the incident as a reason for Berman to revisit last week's bail decision. The defense, he said, could argue that their client was suffering from severe psychological distress and in need of treatment in a secure setting, like the the home-prison they had proposed in their bail motion.

However, such an argument would not be likely to gain much traction with the judge, given his earlier findings, Ross said.

“I doubt an attempted suicide would factor into Berman changing his mind about denying bail,” he said.

Epstein's attorneys have filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which would review the bail denial under a “clear error” standard, a high bar for challenging a district court's factual findings.

According to media reports, Epstein was already being housed in a secure unit within MCC. Epstein's attorneys would have the option of asking Berman for a transfer to another facility, but Nawaday said such a request would come with its own set of complications.

“Then he has to endure transport every time he goes to court, depending on where he is,” she said.

In a transport situation, Epstein would be shuttled with other shackled defendants on their way to court dates, stopping at various locations along the way. Often, attorneys lose track of their client's whereabouts, and the ordeal can be traumatic for defendants.

“It's a pretty horrific experience,” Nawaday said. “If I had a client who's potentially suicidal, that's the last thing I would want for him.”

Epstein's attorneys are next expected in court for a status conference July 31 for motion scheduling and discovery issues.

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