One of the major talking points in the ongoing trial of the former CEO of the defunct crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), has been how Judge Lewis Kaplan, the judge in charge of the case, has reacted to some of the defense’s tactics during cross-examination.
Judge Kaplan Displeased At Defense’s Repetitive Questions
On October 5 (Day 3 of SBF’s trial), Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers cross-examined Adam Yedidia, a close friend of SBF and former employee of FTX. During the proceedings, the judge seemed frustrated at the defense’s line of questioning as he stated, “You’ve made your point. Move on. We’ve been up and down this mountain.”
Still, on the cross-examination, the defense tried to lay a foundation that SBF wasn’t vain or lavish when they asked Yedidia if they knew what kind of car Sam Bankman-Fried drove, of which he answered in the negative. Despite answering in the negative, they asked him if he knew that Sam Bankman-Fried had bought a Toyota Corolla, a question the prosecution objected to.
Seeming tired of the line of questioning, Judge Kaplan sarcastically stated, “And no one here has ever seen a Toyota Corolla”, while laughing and asked the defense to move on. After the jury left for a break, Judge Kaplan expressed his displeasure at SBF’s lawyers, telling Chris Everdell that he was being repetitive and that such questions needed to be curbed.
His frustration was evident during the cross-examination of Paradigm’s co-founder Matt Huang. At some point, he butted in and stated “obviously” in response to a question that Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer David Lisner already knew the answer to, considering the prior question he had asked. Judge Kaplan then asked Lisner to come to the sidebar, where he seemed to warn him of his line of questioning.
Then Came Wang’s Testimony Against Sam Bankman-Fried
After Huang’s testimony, the prosecution called FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang to the witness stand. However, the defense could not cross-examine him on that day as only the witness examination occurred. After the jury dispersed, Judge Kaplan once again warned them of asking repetitive questions, stating that the jury would appreciate it if they didn’t waste time unnecessarily.
However, SBF’s lawyers didn’t heed Judge Kaplan’s warnings as the repetitive questions continued when they cross-examined Wang on October 6. This time, Judge Kaplan didn’t hesitate to sustain the prosecution’s objections to some of the questions the defense asked Wang.
At some point, Judge Kaplan made his frustration known when he told the defense counsel that they asked those questions multiple times and should stop if that was the approach they planned to continue adopting for the remainder of the day. He went on to adjourn the case till October 10.