Blood out of a rock? The Holmes’ defense goes ‘mental’ with Dr. Adam Rosendorff. Reduced to a limited hearing before Judge Edward Davila and the US District Court in San Jose, where Rosendorff not only reaffirmed his testimony but also explained the circumstances around his visit to the home, the Holmes defense filed a motion on Monday, citing an obscure interview published in September by the South African Jewish Report to cast doubt about the veracity and credibility of his testimony. Rosendorff, who was born in South Africa, recounted to the interviewer that the stress from blowing the whistle on Theranos led to a “breakdown, medication, hospitalization, and health problems.”
Rosendorff also stated in the interview that by the time the trials (Holmes and Balwani) were scheduled in early 2020, he was off medication. The trials finally took place in 2021 (Holmes) and this year. When questioned last week by defense lawyer Lance Wade about his mental state, his response was that “I’m finding this line of questioning to be invasive.” and that his “mental state was solid” when he drove to Holmes’ home wanting to speak with her. The prosecution objected to the questioning and Judge Davila upheld it.
The prosecution’s response to the defense filing is that the court record “contains no indication whatsoever that Dr. Rosendorff suffered from a mental health issue that affected his ability to serve as a reliable witness,” and that “newly raised and uncorroborated insinuations about Dr. Rosendorff’s mental health do not justify discounting his testimony or granting a new trial.”
The Mercury News’ money quote from New York defense lawyer Jennifer Kennedy Park: “I think the judge already made the decision that this is not relevant.” Another lawyer quoted, former Santa Clara County prosecutor Steven Clark, said that the stress can be difficult but that it apparently didn’t affect Rosendorff’s capacity to testify–and that he was consistent across two trials.
Unless Judge Davila decides to delay–not likely given the above and the pending sentencing for both Holmes and Balwani–or there are additional magic ‘rabbits out of hats’, Holmes’ sentencing remains scheduled for 18 November, Balwani’s later this year.
And speaking of mental health, beleaguered telemental health provider Cerebral let go of 400 more staff, or another 20% of their remaining workforce. This follows a layoff of ‘hundreds’ of contractors, including nurse practitioners who did counseling and support staff, at end of May. Cerebral is ‘restructuring’ under a new CEO, David Mou, who replaced CEO and co-founder Kyle Robertson forced out by the Cerebral board after the first round of investigations by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on over-prescribing of controlled substances and the subsequent defection of CVS Health and Walmart, as well as Truepill on mail fulfillment. Their statement cites “operational efficiencies while prioritizing clinical quality and safety across the organization.” Cerebral had at its peak in the spring 4,500 employees.
In addition to the DOJ investigation, the FTC is investigating Cerebral for deceptive advertising [TTA 1 June] and a former VP of product and engineering, Matthew Truebe, is suing for wrongful dismissal, further exposing the inner workings of the company [TTA 16 June]. Employees have gone public with tales of pushing prescriptions to 95% of patients, disregarding state regulations, and generally Running Wild over any semblance of clinical probity [TTA 29 June]. Certainly Softbank cannot be delighted at the rolling crackup of their once-valued $4.8 billion baby for which they’ve led funding of over $426 million. TechCrunch, Healthcare Dive.
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