Prominent Lawyer Analyzes Six Possible Reasons Why The Upcoming Ripple/SEC Trial Won’t Hold

The ongoing Ripple VS. SEC lawsuit has continued to stir up discussions in the crypto community, with top lawyers offering expert perspectives regarding possible outcomes.

Notably, speculations are high as the community awaits the trial to resolve SEC charges against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chairman Christian Larsen.

In an August 24 tweet, a US-based lawyer and XRP proponent highlighted six reasons why he believes a trial for the two executives won't happen.

#XRPCommunity
Seeing many out there speculate the @bgarlinghouse @chrislarsensf trial won't happen. For many reasons, I agree. First, it's painfully obvious that suing those two initially was only to pressure @Ripple into a weak settlement position. Two, imagine Hinman...1/5

- Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) August 24, 2023

Why the Jury Trial Against Ripple Execs May Not Hold

For context, the US SEC alleged that Garlinghouse and Larsen aided Ripple in violating securities law by facilitating the distribution of XRP as an unregistered security. While the judge has released a summary judgment on the case against Ripple, the court moved the SEC versus Ripple executives case for jury trial.

Notably, the parties expect the trial to start in the second quarter of 2024. Ripple and the SEC have already submitted their availability schedule for the trial. However, many pro-crypto attorneys, including Fred Rispoli, speculate that a trial won't hold.

In his August 24 tweet, Rispoli said: Seeing that many out there speculate the Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen trial won't happen. For many reasons, I agree." The lawyer outlined six reasons for believing the jury trial won't happen.

For the first reason, Rispoli mentioned that the SEC only included Garlinghouse and Larsen in the lawsuit to pressure Ripple to succumb to a weak settlement position.

However, the SEC's position in the case became weak following the summary judgment that granted Ripple a 2/3 victory against the SEC.

Former SEC Execs Might Testify

Secondly, the lawyer acknowledged the possibility of William Hinman and Jay Clayton testifying in the case as one reason why the trial wouldn't hold. Also, he said the former SEC executives could face a jury trial in New York for their roles during Donald Trump's administration.

In the third reason, Rispoli noted that the SEC might not be able to prove that Garlinghouse and Larsen recklessly distributed XRP in Ripple's institutional sales. According to the attorney, the Ripple executives could counter the SEC's argument using Judge Torres' ruling on the XRP programmatic sales.

It bears mentioning that the court's verdict stated that Ripple's initial XRP sales to institutional investors constituted securities while its programmatic sales are non-securities.

Rispoli believes this clause could provide an edge over the SEC for the executives.

SEC Has a Weak Position in the Upcoming Trial

For the fourth reason, the attorney noted that the regulator's argument on Ripple's international versus domestic XRP sales is weak.

Moreover, Rispoli believes the SEC's recent restructuring renders it unfit for a trial against Ripple. He said the regulator restructured its legal team. According to recent reports, the SEC requested the withdrawal of one of its senior trial attorneys, Pascale Guerrier.

NEW: The @SECGov files a motion for withdrawal of one of its attorneys in the @Ripple case.

Ms. Guerrier is no longer participating in this matter. The SEC continues to be
represented by the other counsel of record in this matter." pic.twitter.com/TY7mpwLN6s

- Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) August 23, 2023

Furthermore, the pro-XRP attorney noted that the SEC is involved in several trials against other crypto firms. He concluded that the multiple cases might impede the watchdog from immediately embarking on another trial against Ripple executives.

...sales when those two can immediately point to programmatic sales as being totally fine? Four, the evidence of domestic sales v. international sales is weak for the SEC. Five, SEC just re-organized the majority of its trial team. Six, SEC is in back-to-back-to-back trials...3/5

- Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) August 24, 2023

In conclusion, Attorney Raspoli said the SEC's only bargaining chip for the jury trial is the interlocutory appeal. According to him, the regulator might find it hard to win the trial if the court denies its appeal request.

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