A week before the fraud trial against former Theranos COO Sunny Balwani, which was due to begin today but was delayed due to juror encountering someone with COVID, Santa Clara County Superior Court worked diligently to select potential jurors from a pool of local citizens.
This is a typical part of court cases designed to ensure that juries are representative of the wider community. But the process is a bit trickier with high-profile cases like those of Balwani and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, given that the jury’s opinion can be swayed by information obtained outside of court; things like, say, a vibrant 8-episode streaming mini-series based on the podcast of the same name.
While the amount of coverage and attention to Theranos and its disgraced founder apparently presented some difficulty in the jury selection process, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila may not have expected The Dropout, Hulu’s re-enactment of Holmes’ fall from grace, to be a factor. here. Law360 reports that before Davila eventually swore in the full panel of 12 jurors and six alternates, the four-day selection process was marked by the dismissal of two potential jurors who began watching The Dropout.
One fired potential juror told the court that while she stopped watching the series after she was called to serve on a jury, she did not believe she could be impartial in her discussion of the trial. Another fired potential juror said that while he didn’t exactly watch the show himself, he “accidentally” saw enough of it to understand “what’s going on” due to his girlfriend watching three episodes of Dropout. weekend. In addition to these two people who were fired, other potential jurors noted that they had seen ads for The Dropout online, with one person calling them a “permanent” presence on Facebook.
The judge asks if a juror can be impartial. He asks to speak alone. “We will do it,” the judge replies. He seems to be very annoyed that the jurors watched “Dropout” on Hulu after they filled out the jury questionnaire and were told not to investigate the case.
— Dorothy Atkins (@doratki) March 15, 2022
High-profile court cases and jury exemptions are not new, and most of the potential jurors fired were sent home for perfectly normal reasons, such as difficulties and prejudices related to their professional experience. What’s remarkable about The Dropout being involved in Balwani’s trial – even in that capacity – is how the actual court case has been undermined by a new adaptation of a relatively recent investigative podcast that reported real events in something close to real. time.
The Dropout is just one of many shows, like Showtime’s Super Pumped, Apple TV Plus’ WeCrashed, and Netflix’s Inventing Anna, that take a “fast-moving” approach to their headline-ripped stories. Dropout, in particular, is a show that details the origins of Elizabeth Holmes and dives into the unicorn-obsessed culture of Silicon Valley. But the show is also a reflection of Theranos — the company that was more than just its founder — and the many people around Holmes, like Balwani, who played different roles in its inception.
While the court appears confident in its ability to adjust to any impact The Dropout may have on Balwani’s trial, the fact that it should do so at all raises interesting questions about Hulu’s and ABC’s decisions to turn a current news event into an informative one so quickly. entertainment. Holmes herself was first indicted in the summer of 2018, subsequently indicted in the summer of 2020, and ultimately found guilty in January of this year, two months before Screenings premiered on Hulu.
With all of The Dropout’s attention and concern for what has already happened, there are elements in Theranos’ story that involve Holmes, who is not due to be sentenced until September of this year, but which simply hasn’t happened yet. The same can be said for Balwani’s role in Theranos’ story, which may become more clear when his trial begins – just as The Dropout reaches its midpoint.