What is document EFTA00032620?

This is an internal email chain from August 2021 between prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York discussing budget approval for hiring jury consultant Paulette Taylor to assist with the Ghislaine Maxwell criminal trial.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document mentions Ghislaine Maxwell (the defendant), Paulette Taylor (the litigation consultant being hired), and references to previous high-profile cases including Martha Stewart, Sheldon Silver, and Dean Skelos where Taylor had provided similar consulting services.

What does this document reveal about the Maxwell prosecution?

The document reveals that federal prosecutors invested in professional jury consulting services for the Maxwell trial, including focus groups to test their case strategy and assistance with jury selection. This demonstrates the importance prosecutors placed on jury selection and trial presentation in this high-profile case.

What services did the jury consultant provide?

Paulette Taylor's proposal included conducting a focus group, developing a pretrial juror questionnaire, and providing feedback on the prosecution's opening statement and closing argument. The proposal did not include reviewing and grading completed questionnaires, which would have cost an additional $8,000 per 100 questionnaires.

When was the Maxwell trial focus group scheduled?

The jury consultant proposed holding the focus group on Friday, October 1, 2021, though this was subject to team consensus. Ghislaine Maxwell's trial began in late November 2021, so this would have given prosecutors about two months to incorporate focus group findings into their trial strategy.

What is document EFTA00032620?

This is an internal email chain from August 2021 between prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York discussing budget approval for hiring jury consultant Paulette Taylor to assist with the Ghislaine Maxwell criminal trial.

Who is mentioned in this document?

The document mentions Ghislaine Maxwell (the defendant), Paulette Taylor (the litigation consultant being hired), and references to previous high-profile cases including Martha Stewart, Sheldon Silver, and Dean Skelos where Taylor had provided similar consulting services.

What does this document reveal about the Maxwell prosecution?

The document reveals that federal prosecutors invested in professional jury consulting services for the Maxwell trial, including focus groups to test their case strategy and assistance with jury selection. This demonstrates the importance prosecutors placed on jury selection and trial presentation in this high-profile case.

What services did the jury consultant provide?

Paulette Taylor's proposal included conducting a focus group, developing a pretrial juror questionnaire, and providing feedback on the prosecution's opening statement and closing argument. The proposal did not include reviewing and grading completed questionnaires, which would have cost an additional $8,000 per 100 questionnaires.

When was the Maxwell trial focus group scheduled?

The jury consultant proposed holding the focus group on Friday, October 1, 2021, though this was subject to team consensus. Ghislaine Maxwell's trial began in late November 2021, so this would have given prosecutors about two months to incorporate focus group findings into their trial strategy.

EFTA00032620 - EFTA00032621

Internal email chain from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (USANYS) regarding budget approval for jury consulting services in the criminal case against Ghislaine Maxwell.

This August 2021 email thread shows prosecutors coordinating payment for litigation consultant Paulette Taylor to provide jury consulting services for the Maxwell trial. The proposal included conducting a focus group, developing a pretrial juror questionnaire, and providing feedback on opening and closing statements. Taylor proposed holding the focus group on October 1, 2021, and noted she had previously provided similar services in high-profile cases including Martha Stewart, Silver, and Skelos prosecutions.

Key Highlights

•Prosecutors retained professional jury consultant Paulette Taylor for the Ghislaine Maxwell trial
•Services included focus groups, juror questionnaire development, and trial strategy feedback
•Taylor had previously worked on other major federal prosecutions including Martha Stewart, Silver, and Skelos cases
•The proposal noted that reviewing and grading completed juror questionnaires costs approximately $8,000 per 100 questionnaires
•Focus group was tentatively scheduled for October 1, 2021, approximately two months before Maxwell's trial began

Frequently Asked Questions

Books for Further Reading

The Spider: Inside the Tangled Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story

Julie K. Brown

Investigative journalism that broke the Epstein case open

Martha: The Cookbook: 100 Favorite Recipes, with Lessons and Stories from My Kitchen

Document Information

Bates Range

EFTA00032620 - EFTA00032621

Pages

Document Content

Page 1 - EFTA00032620

From: (USANYS)" ci To: ' USANYS)" , " " Subject: RE: Proposed Budget -- USA v. Maxwell Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2021 00:35:57 +0000 Attachments: USA47_Request_form.pdf; Lit_Consultant_SOWJTaylor_Trial_Consulting).docx; Budget_Proposal_for Jury_Consulting_Services_fordoex Please see attached. I didn't fill out the TIN on the USA47 request form. Please let us know if you need anything further. Thanks! From: (USANYS) < Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:26 AM To: (USANYS) < < Subject: FW Proposed Budget -- USA v. Maxwell I found the vendor in UFMS. No need for the vendor form. From: (USANYS) Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:14 AM To: < >; >; Subject: FW: Proposed Budget -- USA v. Maxwell Hi — Please complete the USA4 request form, SOW, and have the vendor complete the payment info form. Return to me to process. From: (USANYS) Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 11:03 AM To: (USANYS) Cc: (USANYS) < > Subject: FW: Proposed Budget -- USA v. Maxwell We are going to go ahead with this litigation consultant. Please work with and on it. Thanks, EFTA00032620

Page 2 - EFTA00032621

From: Paulette Taylor < Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2021 7:16 PM To: (USANYS) < > Subject: Proposed Budget -- USA v. Maxwell N- Here is the budget for the focus group, pretrial juror questionnaire, and feedback on the opening statement and closing argument. The proposal does not assume we would review and grade the completed juror questionnaires. As I noted in the proposal, the cost is approximately $8,000 per 100 questionnaires as we can grade only 5 or 6 an hour. We have not provided this service in recent cases, e.g., Silver and Skelos. However, we have provided it in earlier cases, e.g., Martha Stewart, where we were also present in court during jury selection. I am suggesting we hold the focus group on Friday, October 1, subject to consensus among the team. I can be available on other dates as necessary. Let me know what questions you have. —Paulette Taylor'd Trial Consulting Paulette Taylor, President EFTA00032621