If a United States district judge in California agrees with the request, it will be the fourth time that Holmes’ trial for fraud will be postponed.
Theranos Inc. founder Elizabeth Holmes is pregnant, her lawyers and the government said in a lawsuit requesting a six-week delay for her fraud trial, which was due to start on July 13.
“On March 2, 2021, the defendant’s lawyer informed the government that the defendant is pregnant, with a due date in July 2021,” said Holmes’ prosecutors and lawyers in the lawsuit on Friday. “In view of this development, it is not feasible to start the test on July 13, 2021, as currently planned.”
Both sides called for the trial to begin on August 31.
If district judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California agrees to the request, it will be the fourth time that Holmes’ trial will be postponed. It was initially scheduled to start in July 2020 and then moved to October before being restarted for March – both delays due to the pandemic. Davila has been pressing repeatedly for the test to begin, hoping that conditions will improve enough when the population is vaccinated again.
Meanwhile, Holmes and prosecutors are in the middle of a fight over what evidence the judges will see and hear. Davila’s decisions will shape the evidence as well as the strategies on both sides of what arguments lawyers will emphasize or be forced to defend.
The case is US v. Holmes, 18-cr-00258, US District Court, Northern California District (San Jose).