If a U.S. district court judge in California agrees to the request, it will be the fourth time Holmes’ fraud trial has been delayed.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos Inc., is pregnant, her lawyers and the government said in a court document that they are asking for a six-week delay for her fraud trial, which would begin on July 13.
“On March 2, 2021, attorneys for the accused notified the government that the accused was pregnant, with an expected deadline in July 2021,” Holmes prosecutors and attorneys said in the filing Friday. “In light of this development, it is not feasible to begin the trial on July 13, 2021, as currently scheduled.”
The two parties requested that the trial begin on August 31.
If U.S. District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, agrees to the request, it will be the fourth time Holmes’ trial has been delayed. It would initially start in July 2020 and was then moved to October before being repaired again for March – both of these delays due to the pandemic. Davila has repeatedly insisted that the trial begin, hoping that conditions will improve enough once the population is still vaccinated.
Meanwhile, Holmes and prosecutors are fighting over what evidence jurors will see and hear. Davila’s decisions will shape the evidence, as well as the strategy of the two parties on what arguments lawyers will emphasize or be forced to defend.
The case is US v. Holmes, 18-cr-00258, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Jose).