At a hearing on Friday, a U.S. judge postponed the trial of Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm, which was originally scheduled for September, until December 2. Prosecutor Thane Rehn said the trial is expected to last two weeks.
The core issue in the U.S. Department of Justice's case against Roman Storm is whether he created the software or controlled the service. At the hearing on Friday, defense attorney Brian Klein of Waymaker LLP argued that Storm no longer controlled Tornado Cash after May 2020 - during the period the Justice Department alleges Storm broke the law by running Tornado Cash.
Waymaker's Keri Axel added that Tornado Cash's user interface itself does not control the transactions sent by users. The defense repeatedly stressed that Storm did not control Tornado Cash's pools, which are immutable, so Storm cannot be criminally responsible for how people use the mixer.
The judge made no decision on Friday, saying he would rule on the motions "expeditiously." (CoinDesk)