The lawyer responsible for the criminal defense of SBF (Sam Bankman-Fried) admitted that the case was “virtually unwinnable” from the beginning. David Mills, a professor at Stanford Law School, stated in an interview that SBF repeatedly deviated from his legal strategy, including how to handle challenging questions posed by the prosecutor during questioning. Mills added, “He might be the worst cross-examiner I've ever seen.”
He believes that if SBF had performed better, the jury might not have concluded that he stole billions of dollars from FTX customers—and the jury reached a guilty verdict within a few hours. Mills stated that the judge's pre-trial rulings and strong testimony from prosecution witnesses made it nearly impossible for the defense to win. He said, “I think when three or four founders all say you did it, you're almost impossible to beat.”