What have the prosecution and defence said? 

Laura Menninger, a lawyer for Ms Maxwell, had earlier voiced concern that a request to ask jurors to work later each day “is beginning to sound like urging them to hurry up.”

The issue of how forcefully a jury should be encouraged to reach a verdict is often contested by prosecution and defence teams in court. 

Defence lawyers fear that forcing jurys to continue deliberating for longer stretches could pressure them to return a guilty verdict. 

Prosecutors also fear any such measures could offer the defence an issue on which to form an appeal. 

Judge Nathan repeatedly told jurors that the changes to their schedule did not mean that she meant to pressure them “in any way”. 

“You should take all the time that you need,” she said. 

What about a hung jury? 

A second scenario in which a mistrial could be declared is if the six men and six women are unable to reach an agreement on the six counts. 

The jury must reach a unanimous decision on any of the six counts facing Ms Maxwell if she is to be convicted. If they fail to reach unanimity on any of the charges, the judge could declare a mistrial.

Ms Maxwell, the daughter of late British media baron Robert Maxwell, is accused of recruiting and grooming four teenage girls to have sexual encounters with the late financier Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Two of Epstein’s alleged victims said they were as young as 14 when Ms Maxwell allegedly began grooming them for Epstein to abuse.

Prosecutors have argued Ms Maxwell was “the key” to Epstein’s alleged schemes.

The defence claim Ms Maxwell is being used as a scapegoat for her former boyfriend’s crimes after he evaded justice. 

Epstein killed himself in 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on sex abuse charges.