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Jeffrey Epstein's attorneys fight to keep plea discussions private
John Pacenti 2011-04-21 12:00:00 AM
Miami attorney Roy Black and two other high-profile attorneys who represented billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have asked a federal judge to prohibit two alleged victims from obtaining correspondence between the defense team and federal prosecutors who hammered out a nonprosecution agreement.
The two women identified in court papers only as Jane Doe | and Jane Doe 2 say the agreement should be invalidated because they were not adequately informed of the plan not to file federal charges against Epstein.
The defense attorneys’ motion to intervene states the sanctity of plea talks would be undermined if U.S. District Judge Kenneth Marra in West Palm Beach allows the correspondence to be used in the third-party civil action brought by the alleged victims.
New York litigator Jay Lefkowitz and Boston criminal defense attorney Martin G. Weinberg joined Black in the motion filed April 7.
The fight over the records comes amid claims that the defense strong-armed prosecutors into a cushy deal for Epstein.
"The release of these letters and the precedent it would establish would have a severe chilling effect on the lawyers’ ability to engage in candid settlement discussions with the government in future cases," the 13-page motion reads. "Indeed, to the extent such written correspondence is deemed discoverable by third parties, criminal defense attorneys and the government's lawyers alike would lose the ability to negotiate such agreements.”
The alleged victims maintain evidence shows Epstein molested more than 30 girls from 2001 to 2007, luring them to his Palm Beach mansion on the pretext of giving him a massage.
As part of the nonprosecution agreement, he pleaded guilty to a state charge of soliciting sex with a minor and
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/PubArticleFriendlyDBR.jsp?id=1202490901297 4/21/2011
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