Looks like it was a good idea to call in 500 potential jurors.
Dozens of would-be jurors in the trial of the U.S. v. Keith Alan Raniere have already been excused during the first two days of jury selection. And more are trying to get out every minute.
About half of the roughly 80 potential jurors who were interviewed by Tuesday were cut from the first round.
The trial is expected to last six weeks.
Naturally, quite a few don’t want to be sitting in a jury box Mondays through Thursdays from May 7th – when the trial starts – until on or about June 20th – when more or less – it is expected to wrap up -and then, after that, go into deliberations. [Although some think deliberations won’t last too long.]
During the trial, it won’t be fun either.
The jurors have to meet each morning in some secret place and then be escorted to court together by US Marshals. They are virtual prisoners by day – since they will be semi-sequestered. They can’t even leave the building for lunch – unless escorted by Marshals.
The idea is they need protection from, presumably, the media and possibly from Bronfman money or some other influence.
The jurors can go home at night but, again, they have to go through the elaborate routine of leaving with US Marshals to some designated secret place – all together – and then, once there, they can separately head for home.
Chances are the jurors will be warned by the judge not to read any media about the case – an admonition that may or may not be obeyed.
Shayna Jacobs has a fine report in the New York Daily News
Borrowing from her report, and others, it appears that people are trying to get out by using the standard excuses. A number of them said – and no doubt truthfully – that they would not be paid by their employers when they don’t show up for work – and wished to get out of serving based on financial hardship.
One man said he did not want to view sexually explicit material out of fear that it would shake his Christian beliefs.
He said to the judge, “I do not want to know about these organizations. [My] conscience says, ‘I don’t want to listen.’”
U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis seemed annoyed by his comments and said no one was asking him to buy into any belief.
A woman with a Spanish accent said she was afraid of “spirits and voodoos” and, on top of that, was not sure if she could get past the forced-labor Raniere allegedly orchestrated.
“I’m afraid of rituals and bad spirits,” she said.
She later admitted that serving on the jury would be an “inconvenience.”
“There’s a lot of things I have to do at home,” she said.
***
So who would want to serve – put aside your life for weeks – and for what reward?
You get to sit in the same room as Vanguard for an estimated 24 days of trial.
There was a time when hundreds of people paid $2,000 and more each year for the privilege of celebrating Raniere’s birthday for 10 days. And even then he didn’t show up until day five. [And most of the time after, he was holed up with various long-haired, super-slender, garlic-free, young hotties in his cabin in the woods.]
People vied with each other to get a few minutes with the lordly one then.
Now, today, prospective jurors are cooking up excuses not to be near him. And they don’t have to pay either.
Jurors will get $50 per day, plus reasonable transportation expenses and parking fees. And, if they serve more than 10 days, the daily rate goes up to $60 per day.
That sounds pretty close to Nxivm wages. And jurors will not be required to take Nxivm classes.
Nor will they have to kick-back some of what they’re paid to Clare Bronfman.
***
Still, one by one, many prospective jurors are seeking to get out of serving.
A music licenser told the judge that her employer could not get by without her.
When that did not seem to cinch the deal, she said she had very strong feelings on abortion.
One of the questions on the juror questionnaire concerns abortion.
That question is: “There may be evidence in this case about abortions. Would hearing about that type of evidence affect your ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror in this case?”
Over the years of his grandeur, Raniere required his slaves and harem members he impregnated to have abortions. His attorney, Marc Agnigilo, admitted during a sidebar conference on Monday that the were dozens of abortions.
That means at least 24. Can you imagine what it would be like today if Raniere had strong feelings against abortion?
There’d be dozens of avatar children running around, spouting word salad, and perhaps growing up to have harems of their own.
As for this potential juror – when even the abortion angle was not a cinch to get her out – the music licenser insisted she was uniquely repulsed by allegations of child sex abuse.
The latter excuse seems to be a favorite for prospective jurors since a number of them seem to be especially repulsed by that and hoping to get out of being selected for that reason.
I wonder how that would work in a murder case? I mean if a juror was especially repulsed by people murdering other people would that be a reason to be excused?
There is an easy way to get out
One prospective juror who admitted to following the case too closely was already excused. He knew too much about Allison Mack.
If I were advising a prospective juror who wanted to get out of serving on the jury in this case, I might simply tell them to say they’re a regular reader of the Frank Report.
They’ll get bounced fast.
Another simple way – which will work on any case – is to say you believe in jury nullification – that the jury can judge the facts AND the law.
It is true of course. The jury has the power to judge the law and the facts – and the framers of the constitution and the founding fathers believed implicitly in the power of juries and in jury nullification – as the quintessential safeguard of liberty. But no judge today and no prosecutor wants a juror to know this.
It is almost like a conspiracy of ignorance.
The jury has this power and because they have the power they have the right – for no one can punish a juror for his verdict.
Yet this is the dirty little secret of government prosecutions and trials: They don’t want jurors to know their true legal rights – that they can nullify any law on any prosecution – on a case by case basis by simply voting to acquit – if they don’t believe the law is just or that the law was not applied properly in the instant case.
It is a cherished freedom that most are too in ignorant to know and a government – creeping steadily towards totalitarianism would never want you to know it.
If you say you believe in the rights of jurors to nullify the law, you’re out of serving on a jury – especially in federal court.
Whether you believe in abortions or not, or spooks and goblins, whether you’ll lose your house or your husband will run off if you have to serve on the jury, none of that may matter. But tell a judge that you actually know your legal rights as a juror and that you understand the true historical role of a jury – and that you are familiar with jury nullification and you endorse it and intend to deliberate judging both the law and the facts – and you’ll get bounced so fast from jury duty you won’t know what hit you.
Just utter the words “jury nullification” and you’ll scare the judge right out of her britches.
And that’s not funny. It a national shame.
The framers of the constitution meant for the government to fear the people and not vice versa. That was the idea of jury nullification.

Please leave a comment: Your opinion is important to us!
he was holed up with various long-haired, super-slender, garlic-free, young hotties in his cabin in the woods.]
People vied with each other to get a few minutes with the lordly one then.
And then they decided they were victims. After they were indicted, replaced, overlooked for promotion, took a closer look at their brand …
Except the 15 year old
I wonder what the Dali Lama would think to know that he was honored by a baby killer and his minion supporters.
Anonymous,
True Eastern buddhists are against abortion.
A new excuse to get out of jury duty, just tell the judge you were a Boy Scout leader: https://freedomoutpost.com/court-documents-7819-boy-scout-troop-leaders-abused-12254-victims/
Scott,
Thank you so much for the link to the white supremacist website!!!!!
I can not believe they are selling 10% of all white sheets, $20 off Lawn Jockeys, and giving away Tiki Torchs for orders over $250dollars!!!!!
Niceguy- too funny!! 🙂
How about a KAR lawn jockey, cross eyed with glasses, little square feet,
comes in three outfit options. Track star, volleyball, and genius.
Forgot Judo
To the people that are offended by Frank Parlato’s “24 Avatar children” quote:
Would you rather have 24 innocent children being raised by deranged harem women and indoctrinated in Nxivm?
Great f*cking life that would be…..being raised by Kathy Russell, Clare Bronfman the Salzman Women and all the other swell harem women…….
You people need a reality check.
**********
“That means at least 24. Can you imagine what it would be like today if Raniere had strong feelings against abortion?
There’d be dozens of avatar children running around, spouting word salad, and perhaps growing up to have harems of their own.”
Is [Name Redacted] still in NXIVM?
Last I heard, [Name Redacted] was still living in Albany NY. She reports she is no longer “in NXIVM”.
How can one be in NXIVM when it doesn’t exist, at least for now in Albany?
[Name Redacted] has two aging parents and two young adult children who live in the Pacific northwest.
The question is why would [Name Redacted] choose to continue to live in Albany NY when all her biological family lives in the Seattle area?
Is she still attracted to the cult members of NXIVM Mother Ship and have they become her family? Is she waiting for the re-birth of NXIVM 2.0?
Also, does she have a brand AND a hairy bush?
I gather from reading Frank’s reporting of the jury selection process thus far the jury will be made up of morons and nuts. I imagine the jury will be like a random collection of Frankreport commentors.
I am betting that the jury alternates will be used.
Myself included on the random list of course. 😉
Shades of the OJ trial
I am terribly disappointed with this: “There’d be dozens of avatar children running around, spouting word salad, and perhaps growing up to have harems of their own.” No one is a duplicate of their parents. Even if they were, abortion is certainly no way to respond. Shame on you.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the [poisonous] tree.
We can all sleep better knowing Satan’s Avatar babies will not be roaming the earth.
I was not endorsing abortion. I said that if he had not been pushing abortion, there would be today a gaggle of Raniere children. Perhaps they would have grown up good and different from him – or perhaps – after going through Rainbow Cultural Garden and living in the cult – being educated in the teachings of Jness and SOP and all the rational inquiry Nxivm techniques – plus Raniere’s very own special – ‘fathers should have sex with their daughters’ teaching – that they might have been sociopaths or worse. Who knows? It was merely a tongue in cheek observation – meant to provoke a little imagination – [i.e. what if he had had a bunch of children] and really NOT to put down children of their parents or worse abortion.
Frank,
Do you remember, “The Boys from Brazil” movie from the 70’s?
I do remember it vaguely but I don’t recall the plot.
In the movie “The Boys from Brazil” Dr. Josef Mengele, played by Gregory Peck, was helping create a new Hitler by arranging for Hitler clones to be raised in circumstances similar to Hitler’s childhood.
Hitler’s father, Alois Hitler, was notorious for being violent.
The Hitler clones were raised by violent stepfathers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boys_from_Brazil_(film)
Short summary: Hitler had bunch of clones (Avatar babies).
Dear Frank Parlato,
You have offended my Christian values and principles. Abortion is not a laughing matter.
I plan on contacting my Congressman and writing letters to your sponsors. You are morally reprehensible. May God have pitty on your soul.
P.S. Do you think when the trial is over that the DOJ will release the nude photos of Allison Mack?
For the first time since I have been a.devoted reader of this report, I am disappointed! Mr. Parlato, I am so disappointed to read this: “There’d be dozens of avatar children running around, spouting word salad, and perhaps growing up to have harems of their own.” Certainly you or anyone with a grain of sense knows that children are not the same as their parents! Some personality traits are inherited but not what you describe. Children are precious, no matter who their parents are. No child is expendable. Shame on you.
Why should anybody be upset that some Anonymous commenter is disappointed? You’re a non-person. Besides, the kids would likely be WORSE, as they would be Rainbow Garden graduates.
Non-person is nazi-speak like subhuman. But I guess everyone shows his true colors once in a while.
Few people want to be stuck on a jury for six weeks. Few want to serve on a jury, period. This is all routine, though, judges and court officers have heard all the excuses hundreds of times. Folks can complain all they want, it’s everyone’s civic duty, so as far as I’m concerned they can all suck it up, stop complaining, and be glad there’s no longer a military draft.
As for jury nullification, everyone knows about this. They may not know the fancy term, or its 18th century heritage, but what it boils down to is this: no jury will convict a defendant they sympathize with. Facts be damned, if they think the person in the dock doesn’t fit their subjective notion of a criminal, they’ll return a not guilty verdict. Fortunately in this case nobody’s likely to find Raniere the least bit sympathetic. Not when the stuff about branding women comes out in open court.
I think you give people on a jury too much credit, they are much closer to many of the people who make comments on this website, not very bright. The jury candidates had to answer the question whether they agreed they will follow the facts and not the law. That makes it easy to weed out those who are willing to interpret the law, assuming they’re telling the truth or the lawyers are otherwise able to determine this through other questions and answers they obtain.
Yolanda please stop embarrassing the family this way in public. Perhaps we were wrong to have you sleep outside but as you know that vile stench from Keith won’t wash off. I’ve discussed it with the children and everyone agrees you can now sleep on the covered porch and we look forward to the day you aren’t completely repulsive and have house privileges again but in the meantime it’s imperative you stay on your meds.
I’m not married the man pretending to be my husband is a troll. I stand by what I said. No jury nullification is needed because Keith is 100 percent innocent on the facts. But the law is not correctly applied. He did not sex traffic. You cannot traffic the willing! The women were lined up to be with him.
Yolanda,
How is Pea Onyu?
I noticed that within a day after Pea disappeared you appeared.
I suppose that is just a coincidence.
I wouldn’t want to do it. As much as I am following this case, I’d love to see it televised. But taking that much time off work, etc etc I would hate to be a juror. Of course, I already believe his slimy ass should stay in prison forever.
While I appreciate the education regarding jury nullification, and its value when trying to get of being picked for a jury, there is no reason to apply it when making the decision to nail Raniere in this trial.
Maybe he should have a jury of his peers
His ex-peers. The ones he screwed over. That would be justice.
Good thing it’s not 1850, KAR justice would of need served already. A tree, a rope and a horse
Or four horses and some rope. I’d rather see him quartered than hung.
How about Hanged, Drawn and Quartered?
Except the judge’s oath of office. That will scare the pants off them as much, if not more, than jury nullification. Always good for a quick recusal.
“Potential jurors trying to get out of serving in Raniere case – but all they’d have to do is utter the words ‘jury nullification’
Or wear a MAGA hat?
Sorry about my wife Yolanda, everyone. She is off her medication again which obviously causes her to present with delusions of grandeur and the like. Very unfortunate for the entire Cortez family that she continues to cause us such embarrassment. On behalf of all Cortez’s from Mexico to New York, please accept my apologies on her behalf.
😂🤣😂 Thank you Juan.
Hi Juan,
You should f*ck the crazy out of your wife.
+
It occurred to me reading this, that a part of me is actually grateful for all of Keith’s aborted babies. I know that sounds cruel to say that about innocent children, but honestly, who among us wanted dozens of little Keiths in this world? The apple sometimes doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Exactly, imagine one of them wanted to practice judo. They could never be better than their father.
Jurors don’t have to nullify. Keith is innocent on facts.
Bahahahahahaha, you crack us all up you crazy loon
“Jurors don’t have to nullify. Keith is innocent on facts.”
Yolanda,
Sorry to burst your bubble but Keith is as guilty as sin.
Too bad the women of NXIVM did not realize that years ago when Keith lectured them on how it was OK for an adult to have sex with a 12 year old child.
One doesn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to understand that Keith Raniere is either doing 12 year old children or wanted to do them.
The only thing that saved Keith all these years is that the women of NXIVM were too gutless to inform the police of his pedophilia.
Now Allison and Lauren are headed to prison for being irredeemably stupid.
By the way how are Emiliano Salinas and Alex Betancourt doing?
So you admit he’s not innocent? Just innocent on facts? Which isn’t true anyway. How do you not see the facts?
Thank you thank you thank you for highighting jury nullifcation. This is really an important part of the judicial process which sadly, not enough people know about.
But they really can’t kick you off as a potential juror for saying that, can they?
They can and they will kick you off. The best plan is if you know about jury nullification – tell others, spread the word about our essential freedom safeguard – but don’t tell the judge – if you are called to serve. Chances are the judge won’t ask – because it is the last thing he wants jurors to know about. In this case silence is golden.
Then when you do deliberate – use your conscience – and judge every part of the case – the facts, the law and its application. That is what the founders of America wanted us to do to preserve our freedom.
Frank , If on a jury, would this be something you would not mention to other jurors for fear of being replaced by an alternate? ??
I don’t think you can be replaced for that reason.
Certainly don’t mention jury nullification before going into deliberations. But in the jury room – which the judge and prosecutor are not permitted to enter and audit – it may be mentioned if applicable. It was meant by the founders of the constitution that jury nullification is to be rightfully part of jury deliberations.
You are all totally insane.
Sigh,
LMFAO……..
……….Sigh, you may have posted the most astute and accurate observation that has ever been posted on the Frankreport website!!!!!!!!!
“You are all totally insane”,(Sigh).