Elizabeth Holmes' Lawyers Object to Government's Decision to Amend Charge by Information, Rather Than Indictment
Lawyers for the Theranos founder claim that she has not waived the right to be charged by indictment and that the superseding information adding additional time and details to the alleged conspiracy in the case should be dismissed. Grand jury proceedings have been suspended in the Northern District of California since mid-March amid the pandemic.
May 18, 2020 at 03:11 PM
3 minute read
Elizabeth Holmes with Williams & Connolly attorneys Kevin Downey, left, and Lance Wade head into the Northern District of California on Jan. 13. (Photo: Jason Doiy/ALM)
Lawyers for Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of defunct blood-testing company Theranos, have asked a federal judge to knock out the latest amended charges federal prosecutors filed against her.
Holmes' lawyers at Williams & Connolly and San Francisco criminal defense lawyer John Cline on Monday filed a motion to dismiss the superseding information in the case. Prosecutors on May 8 filed the information, a charging document that does not require a grand jury sign-off. The amended charges doubled the length of time that Holmes is alleged to have conspired to defraud investors, added additional categories of alleged victims, and added a new count of wire fraud.
Holmes' lawyers contend she has not waived the right to be charged by indictment and that the prosecutors' actions violate her rights under the U.S. Constitution and Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 7, which requires crimes carrying more than one year or more in prison time to be charged by indictment except in cases where the defendant waives that right.
"Because Ms. Holmes does not waive prosecution by indictment, convening an arraignment on this information would be pointless and a waste of the Court's time because no arraignment could actually occur," the defense lawyers wrote. "The Court should dismiss this unconstitutional information without scheduling an arraignment."
The motion illustrates logistical challenges facing federal prosecutors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Grand jury proceedings have been suspended in the Northern District of California since mid-March.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Northern District of California, which is prosecuting the case, said, "We have no comment at this time and will respond to the filings in due course."
U.S. District Judge Edward Davila, who is overseeing the case, said during a telephonic hearing last month he would like to push back the criminal fraud trial against Holmes from its scheduled August start date until at least October amid public health concerns.
Read more:
Elizabeth Holmes Trial Likely Postponed Until October Due to COVID-19
Lawyers for Elizabeth Holmes Urge Pushback of August Trial Date, Prosecutors Endorse October Start
Despite COVID-19, Judge in Elizabeth Holmes Fraud Case Pushes Forward With Summer Trial Date
Elizabeth Holmes' Lawyer Assails Theranos Prosecution as 'Massive Case With Undefined Contours'
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