Gloria Allred, an attorney representing some of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged victims, addresses the media after attending a preliminary conference in the sexual misconduct trial of Jeffrey Epstein at the federal court in Manhattan today. Photo: Kevin Hagen/AP

Attorneys for Jeffrey Epstein on Wednesday pushed back against a proposed June 2020 trial date in their client's criminal sex trafficking case, saying they would need more time to defend a case that could include up to 1 million pages of discovery materials.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman of the Southern District of New York set an Oct. 28 date for oral arguments on discovery-related motions, but declined to schedule a date certain for trial in the case.

He did, however, exclude time for speedy trial considerations until June of next year. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks.

“Let's see where everybody is as the months go by, and then we'll see where everybody is for trial,” Berman said from the bench.

Wednesday's status conference was the first time Epstein has appeared in court since Berman denied his request for bail July 18.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Moe handled the hearing for prosecutors.

Epstein, who is being housed at Metropolitan Correctional Facility in Manhattan, was reportedly found on the floor of his cell last week, in what officials were treating as a possible suicide attempt. There was no mention about the incident at the hearing, and an attorney for Epstein declined to comment on his well-being after the proceeding.

Epstein's team last week appealed Berman's bail-denial ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Moe, arguing on behalf of the government, asked Berman on Wednesday for a firm trial date next June in order to avoid unnecessary delays.

“We think there's a public interest in bringing this case to trial as soon as possible,” she said, citing the time that has elapsed since the alleged conduct occurred between 2002 and 2005.

Epstein attorney Martin G. Weinberg, of Martin G. Weinberg P.C. in Boston, responded that the defense would need until September 2020 to review voluminous discovery to mount a defense that would raise constitutional issues linked to a nonprosecution agreement Epstein entered with Florida prosecutors a decade ago.

“Thirteen months sounds like the amount of time we'd ordinarily need to prepare a case of this scope and magnitude,” Weinberg said.

Berman said he normally defers to the defense on scheduling issues but observed that typically it is the government that asks for additional time to mount its case.

Both sides agreed to a discovery deadline of Oct. 31, with the exception of material that had been seized from devices in Epstein's Manhattan townhouse. Moe said that information may be subject to privilege review protocol that could extend past the end of October.

Briefing on discovery-related motions is set to conclude by Oct. 11, and substantive pretrial motions were due by Feb. 24, with oral argument set for March 12.

Epstein, who is accused of exploiting underage girls at his homes in Florida and Manhattan, will meanwhile remain in federal custody after Berman rejected a proposed bail package that would have had Epstein wait out trial from his home on Manhattan's Upper East Side. In his ruling, Berman said Epstein's penchant for sex with underage girls appeared to be “uncontrollable,” and the financier's vast resources made him both a flight risk and a danger to the community.

According to an unsealed federal indictment, Epstein allegedly paid girls as young as 14 years old from 2002 to 2005 to perform nude or seminude massages, which became “increasingly sexual” in nature and typically ended with Epstein masturbating in front of his victims and molesting them. Prosecutors allege that Epstein also paid his victims hundreds of dollars to recruit other young girls into his network, allowing him to create “an ever-expanding web of new victims.”

Epstein appeared alongside counsel in Berman's courtroom, sitting silently at the defense table.

 

Read More:

Possible Suicide Attempt Unlikely to Slow Jeffrey Epstein's Sex Trafficking Case, Attorneys Say

'Uncontrollable' Jeffrey Epstein Denied Bail Ahead of Sex Trafficking and Conspiracy Trial

SDNY Prosecutors Blast Epstein's Proposed Bail Conditions, Urge Pretrial Confinement

Epstein Attorneys Argue for Home Detention, Lay Out 14 Conditions for Release

US Attorney Berman Says SDNY Prosecutors Aren't Bound by Epstein's Nonprosecution Agreement in Florida