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New York Law Journal

Snapshot Judgment: The Case Against Illustrated Indictments

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Inicio Perspectivas Snapshot Judgment: The Case Against Illustrated Indictments
A picture is worth a thousand words, the saying goes. In the past couple of years, federal prosecutors, led in large part by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, have enthusiastically embraced that adage by routinely including sensational photographs in high-profile indictments against well-known figures such as Donald Trump, Mayor Eric Adams, and Senator Robert Menendez.

Autores: Evan T. Barr

The media understandably publishes those images which then are burned into the minds of judges and potential jurors. While the increased use of visuals is consistent with the way most people consume news today, at times it may cross the line into prejudicial pretrial publicity.

Prosecutorial Photo-Ops

An early example is United States v. Ghislaine Maxwell, 20 Cr. 330 (S.D.N.Y.), in which the defendant was charged with assisting the late Jeffrey Epstein in the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. On the second page of the indictment, prosecutors included a snapshot of a louche-looking Epstein with his left arm draped over Maxwell’s shoulder, apparently reflecting the intimacy of their relationship. The indictment also featured pictures of Epstein’s lavish residences in New York, Palm Beach, and New Mexico, visual reminders of his wealth and power.

In the corruption case brought against former the former New Jersey senator (United States v. Robert Menendez et al., 23 Cr. 490 (S.D.N.Y.), prosecutors festooned the indictment with images of gold bars and envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash seized by agents during a search of his home. There are also pictures of the Senator and his wife attending lavish dinners, and a texted image of a Mercedes-Benz convertible purportedly given in exchange for certain favors.

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