Michael Jeffries, the former CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch who was charged with running an international sex trafficking scheme over several years while he ran the company, is mentally competent for trial, a federal judge ruled.
\n\nIn her 157-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Nusrat Choudhury found, after reviewing testimony, medical expert reports, and hours of phone calls made by Jeffries, that he is cleared to face a jury in October on Long Island.
\n\n“Jeffries clearly possesses a rational and factual understanding of the proceedings to adjudicate his criminal charges,” said Choudhury, who added that he is a “reasonably intelligent person and skilled communicator who possesses a more than sufficient ability to consult with his lawyers.”
\n\nJeffries’ legal team had previously argued that he was unfit to stand trial due to dementia and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, prompting Choudhury to order him to be hospitalized to evaluate his mental fitness.
\n\nChoudhury said Jeffries’ 109 phone calls made during his four-month stint at the federal medical center to be “particularly illuminating.”
\n\n“On the calls, Jeffries is a fluent conversational partner and shows that he has the ability to learn new information auditorily and to retrieve it days or weeks later, particularly where the…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business