"Five women and seven men have been selected to serve as jurors for the monthslong trial of Elizabeth Holmes, after days of vetting to determine their impartiality and availability to weigh the fate of the Theranos Inc. founder charged with criminal fraud." - The Wall Street Journal, September 2, 2021
Those jurors are diverse - racially, in age, and in income. They are ready to put their lives on hold for this trial which is expected to last until mid-December.
Of course, they had been screened about whether the media coverage of both Theranos and its founder Elizabeth Holmes made them biased.
In addition, though, they were questioned about their experience with domestic violence. It could be that Holmes' lawyers from Williams & Connolly will insert a mental health defense.
Unsealed documents disclosed that Holmes contended a decade of abuse from her intimate partner. That allegedly ranged from controlling her behavior to throwing objects.
Whether that generates sympathy from jurors is not a sure thing. In the Texas trial of dentist Clara Harris who fatally ran over her dentist husband the defense introduced his alleged abuse of her. But the jurors essentially ruled that out. They assessed she had the resources to exit the situation. She was sentenced to 20 years, then released after 15. Jurors could also conclude that Holmes had the intelligence, funds, network, and family support to dislodge herself from domestic abuse.
In the next few months so much could be on trial. That could include:
- The ethos of Silicon Valley which overpromises.
- A passive board of directors. That is in conflict with the current focus on governance in the corporate concern with ESG (Environmental Social Governance) matters.
- The media which initially had blind-faith in Theranos technology and the business skills of its founder.
- The legal guidance for Theramos by lawyer David Boies of Boies Schiller. Also, he had allegedly tried to intimidate The Wall Street Journal when it was going to break the story questioning the startup's technology.
- The medical community which seemed to trust too much and verify too little.
But, will what comes out in this trial really change much? Human beings tend to believe what they want to believe, then behave in ways that are in sync with that mindset. There will be more Theranos startups. There will be more Holmes kinds of players. There will be more media outlets which gush prematurely about a vision to change the world. And that will be that.
Reflection: There is the gallows humor in this time of climate change. Experts posit that unless radical action is taken to halt the pace of climate change, the human race could disappear in 200 years. Some cheer: Finally. That would be great.
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