Elizabeth Holmes’ Defense Ploy May Have Paid Off

It is axiomatic that time is on the side of the defense in a criminal trial. All they need is reasonable doubt, and if enough time passes key witnesses tend to get hazy about things they once were certain of. That’s why prosecutors were unhappy about the multiple delays in trying Elizabeth Holmes for her role at the failed blood-testing company Theranos. On his fourth day of testimony former lab director Adam Rosendorff was asked about details of meetings and didn’t remember them. Then the defense produced minutes from the same meeting that again  made Rosendorff look less reliable than the prosecution had hoped. Making Rosendorff look unreliable is crucial to Holmes’ defense. He has testified about Holmes’ direct knowledge of the problems in Theranos’ clinical labs, but the defense strategy is to blame lab directors for the problems.