‘Never Should Have Been Charged’: Ghislaine Maxwell Asks SCOTUS to Overturn Conviction

Ghislaine Maxwell, the former socialite convicted of sex trafficking and grooming minors for her ex-boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein, filed a 159-page petition on Friday, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn her conviction. Maxwell, 63, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2021 for five counts related to Epstein’s abuse. In her petition, Maxwell argues that her prosecution should have never occurred due to a non-prosecution agreement made between the federal government and Epstein in 2007, even though she was not a party to the agreement.

The Legal Battle and Previous Appeals

Maxwell was convicted in December 2021 after a trial in the Southern District of New York. She was found guilty of helping Epstein recruit, groom, and sexually exploit minors. Epstein, who faced similar charges, died in jail before he could stand trial. After her conviction, Maxwell appealed, arguing that the 2007 plea deal Epstein struck with the federal government in Florida offered her immunity from prosecution. The deal was made between Epstein and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida, and Maxwell claimed that it should protect her as well.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ruled against her, stating that a plea agreement only binds the federal prosecutors in the district where it was made. Since Maxwell was being prosecuted in the Southern District of New York, the plea deal did not apply to her. The court’s ruling highlighted that no language in the agreement suggested it would extend beyond Florida’s jurisdiction. Maxwell’s petition to the Supreme Court seeks to challenge this decision, arguing that a plea agreement made by one set of federal prosecutors should be binding on prosecutors from different jurisdictions. Her attorney, David Oscar Markus, insists that a defendant should not be exposed to prosecution in another jurisdiction based on different interpretations of the same agreement.

The Constitutional Question: Does Immunity Apply Across Jurisdictions?

In her petition, Maxwell’s legal team emphasizes that her case presents a key legal issue: whether a promise made by federal prosecutors in one jurisdiction should apply to prosecutions in other jurisdictions. Maxwell’s team contends that the U.S. government’s agreement with Epstein, which offered immunity from prosecution in exchange for his cooperation, should extend to her prosecution in New York, despite the plea deal being made in Florida.

Markus argues that if the government promises immunity, it should not be able to renege on that promise simply because a different set of prosecutors, in a different jurisdiction, interprets the agreement differently. “A defendant should be able to rely on a promise that the United States will not prosecute again, without being subject to a gotcha in some other jurisdiction,” the petition asserts. Maxwell’s team describes her case as “the perfect vehicle” to resolve the legal split among various circuit courts over the application of immunity in multi-jurisdictional cases. Maxwell’s defense hopes the Supreme Court will take up the case and address this important legal question.

High-Profile Connections and the Potential for Supreme Court Review

Maxwell’s case has garnered significant attention not only because of the nature of her crimes but also due to her high-profile connections, including her ties to former President Donald Trump. Testimony from one of Maxwell’s victims revealed that Epstein introduced her to Trump at Mar-a-Lago when the victim was just 14 years old, further fueling public interest in the case. The conservative-leaning Supreme Court, with three justices appointed by Trump, now faces the decision of whether to review Maxwell’s appeal. Maxwell’s lawyer, David Oscar Markus, remains hopeful, asserting that the government’s failure to honor its non-prosecution agreement is a matter of legal and common sense. “Ghislaine never should have been charged, as the federal government gave her immunity,” Markus stated in an email to Law&Crime. As the legal battle continues, Maxwell’s fate could now rest in the hands of the nation’s highest court.