Amanda Kramer provided insight to Law360 regarding Elizabeth Holmes' uphill battle for a new criminal trial. Amanda noted that in order for Holmes to successfully petition the court for a new criminal trial, the evidence must be new, must be material to the charges, and it must support Holmes' acquittal, which isn't easy to prove.
Amanda stated that any immunity protection key government witness Adam Rosendorff may have received during Holmes' trial likely wouldn't apply to a post-trial evidentiary hearing, and if Rosendorff gives inconsistent testimony during the evidentiary hearing, he could risk perjuring himself.
"There's certainly no upside to him testifying, and there's certainly risk of exposure, which would have any lawyer advising a client that he or she should assert their Fifth Amendment right," she said.
"As a prosecutor, I always tried to elicit that on examination so that the witness wouldn't be likely to have it burst out at an unplanned time," Amanda said. She explained that remorseful witnesses were so common when she was a federal prosecutor that she would try to anticipate a witness's potential regrets, and ask those witnesses to express their favorable views of the defendant on the stand, as well as his or her alleged criminal conduct. "You don't want a situation like this where somebody has been biting their tongue for so long, and they have to say something," she added.
"When someone is looking at being a felon for life, and looking at possibly losing her freedom, you really don't want to leave any arrows in your quiver and that's your job as a vigorous advocate," Amanda concluded. "Even though your odds are low, that's the work that is necessary, because sometimes it pays off and relief is granted."
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