The trial with Elizabeth Holmes was delayed because she is pregnant

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, who was scheduled to start the criminal fraud process in July, is asking for a delay because she is pregnant.

On Friday, in a court appearance, his defense attorneys and prosecutors asked Judge Edward Davila to delay the start of his trial by six weeks to begin on August 31, 2021.

“On March 2, 2021, the defendant’s attorney informed the government that the defendant is pregnant, with an expected expiration date of July 2021,” Holmes prosecutors and attorneys write. “Both parties agree that, in light of this development, it is not feasible to start the trial on July 13, 2021.”

No other details were obtained immediately.

The trial has already been delayed three times due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Holmes ’legal team was prepared to raise the issue of mental health as part of its advocacy strategy. In a previous court case, Holmes’ attorneys wrote that they intended to introduce evidence “related to a mental illness or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant related to .. the issue of guilt.”

This would include the expert testimony of Dr. Mindy Mechanic, a professor of clinical psychology at California State University, Fullerton, who according to the University’s website “focuses on the psychosocial consequences of violence, trauma, and victimization with an emphasis on violence against women and other forms of interpersonal violence “.

The judge granted federal prosecutors the opportunity to conduct their own Holmes mental health examination and be examined by two experts, a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

Holmes and former office manager Sunny Balwani face a dozen criminal charges of fraud and 20 years in prison for falsely claiming that Theranos technology could do dozens of blood tests with just one or two drops of blood .

Silicon Valley’s launch was valued at $ 9 billion before closing in 2018.