In this post:
- Judge Katherine Polk Failla postponed the next Storm trial until April 14, 2025, on November 1.
- Going so far as to submit a mandamus petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Storm’s defense has contested the court’s decision to postpone the trial.
- Roman Storm faces three charges: conspiracy to violate sanctions, conspiracy to launder money, and conspiracy to run an unauthorized money-transmitting company.
Following Judge Katherine Polk Failla’s decision on November 1, the trial of Roman Storm, a co-founder of Tornado Cash, has been rescheduled for April 2025, four months later than originally planned.
In order to give the parties time to exchange information on the expert witnesses they could call to settle their differences, which began approximately a month ago, the New York judge advanced the trial date.
The defense team for Storm contests Judge Failla’s ruling
Roman Storm’s trial has been postponed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla until April of next year so that the parties can exchange details on their expert witnesses. The trial is scheduled to begin on April 14 and continue for a further two weeks.
However, Storm’s attorneys have challenged the judge’s decision, claiming that the necessity for disclosure would harm their planned defense.
The defense team, headed by Waymaker LLP’s Brian Klein, stated in a filing dated October 14 that the information exchange would expose their hand and “greatly prejudice Mr. Storm.” They even claimed that since they had not requested a list of experts from the prosecution, the judge’s order might violate one of the federal laws governing criminal proceedings.
Additionally, in order to have Judge Katherine Failla’s decision overturned by a higher court, the developer’s legal team filed a mandamus petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The trial is expected to last two weeks, and a hearing for the petition was scheduled for November 12.
Roman Storm receives a three-count indictment from the court.
When US authorities accused Storm of helping North Korea’s Lazarus Group launder $1 billion, he began a lengthy legal battle. Storm was subsequently charged with three counts: conspiracy to violate sanctions, conspiracy to operate an unauthorized money-transmitting firm, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
His legal team claimed in 2023 that the case violated free speech because their client was simply engaged in code writing. They even requested that all of his charges be dropped by the court.
Judge Katherine Polk, however, dismissed the defense’s claim, stating:
At this stage in the case, this court cannot simply accept Mr. Storm’s narrative that he is being prosecuted merely for writing code. If the jury ultimately accepts this narrative, then it will acquit. But there’s no basis for me to decide that as a matter of law.– Judge Katherine Polk
The next trial was initially set for December, but on Friday, she changed it to April 2025.
