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The court and jury could have misunderstood Sam Bankman-Fried’s behavior during his criminal trial due to his autism and attention deficit disorders, doctors wrote in a recent amicus brief.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial could have been hurt because of his neurodivergence disorders, leading to “longwinded answers” that frustrated the court, says a group of doctors in an amicus brief supporting his appeal. 

The FTX co-founder is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that “posed serious challenges during proceedings in this case,” eight doctors focused on the field of neurodivergence told the Second Circuit Appeals Court in a Sept. 20 amicus brief supporting Bankman-Fried.

They claimed several rulings were detrimental to Bankman-Fried “because of his neurodivergence,” in particular the Manhattan district court’s ruling that government prosecutors could cross-examine him without a jury before he sat before jurors. 

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