Juries

R. Kelly Jurors to be Anonymous

In a surprise move, U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly of Brooklyn granted the prosecution's request to make the jurors in the upcoming R. Kelly racketeering trial anonymous.  Generally speaking, anonymous juries are reserved for cases where jurors may feel threatened or fear backlash from the community. 

Two major problems with anonymous jurors.  First, anonymity may cause some jurors to infer that R. Kelly is guilty.  Second, anonymous jurors are less accountable to the court and more likely to violate court rules such as looking for information online. 

To read more about the decision go here.

R. Kelly Seeks an Anonymous Jury

I have not seen the actual motion but according to media reports, federal prosecutors in the R. Kelly case are calling for an anonymous jury.  There are a number of reasons why this is a bad idea.  The one that probably jumps out at me first is the lack of accountability.  When you allow jurors to be anonymous, you greatly increase the potential for jurors to go rogue and or ignore the court's instructions.  This really could be a problem with a high-profile case like this.

Chicago.suntimes.com: Feds in New York want Anonymous Jury when R. Kelly goes to trial there

A Jury of Your [Redacted]: The Rise and Implications of Anonymous Juries

Leonardo Magnat

Abstract

Since their relatively recent beginnings in 1977, anonymous juries have been used across a litany of cases: organized crime, terrorism, murder, sports scandals, police killings, and even political corruption. And their use is on the rise. An anonymous jury is a type of jury that a court may empanel in a criminal trial; if one is used, then information that might otherwise identify jurors is withheld from the parties, the public, or some combination thereof, for varying lengths of time.

Though not without its benefits, anonymous juries raise questions regarding a defendant’s presumption of innocence, the public’s right to an open trial, the broad discretion afforded to judges, and the impacts of anonymity on juror decisionmaking. In fact, one mock jury experiment found that anonymous jurors returned approximately 15% more guilty verdicts than their non-anonymous counterparts. The anonymous jury is unquestionably a potent tool that affords a court great flexibility to meet the exigencies of a trial head on. But its extraordinary characteristics counsel care in its empanelment. By adopting the Seventh Circuit’s approach to anonymous juries and requiring reasoned verdicts when they are used, anonymous juries may yet become an “inspired, trusted, and effective” instrument of justice.

Anonymous Jurors (Oral Argument)

In People v. Flores et al. the NY high court recently heard oral argument in a case that involves empanelling an anonymous jury. 

Courthouse news service also has a write-up of the case.

        Courthousenews.com: Top NY Court Critical of Jury Anonymity in Gang Trial

It should also be noted that an anonymous jury is being used in the federal trial of El Chappo in Brooklyn, NY.

Anonymous Jury for El Chapo

Here is the government's motion requesting an anonymous jury for noted drug lord El Chapo. Here is the defense's response. Below are two articles discussing why the federal judge granted the government's motion. 

N.Y. Times: El Chapo Jurors Will Be Anonymous During Trial

CNN: The defendants so threatening their juries were anonymous

 

NY Prohibits Anonymous Juries (People v. Flores)

...While the federal criminal system permits juries to consider cases in total anonymity, New York State has a more restrictive law that allows the addresses of jurors to be withheld from the public and the parties at a trial, but does not allow their names to be withheld.

Tackling the issue for the first time, a state appeals court this week affirmed the New York statute, ruling that when a judge in Orange County empaneled an anonymous jury to hear the case of a crew of gang members accused of beating a rival, he broke the law and deprived the defendants of a fair trial...

NYTimes.com: Court Affirms New York State Law Governing Anonymous Juries

People v. Flores

Defense Attorney Protests Use of Anonymous Jury in Death Penalty Case

NJ.com: Defense in death penalty case says secret jury unfair to defendant

Anonymous Jurors

 

NPR has an interesting story on anonymous jurors in the context of the Freddie Gray trial in Baltimore.

 

Jurors and the Freddy Gray Case

Here is a link to a Motion in Limine filed by an attorney representing one of the police officers charged in the Freddy Gray case.  For those interested in learning more about the jury issues that arise in high profile cases like Freddy Gray, I suggest giving this 8-page motion a quick once over. 

Among other things, the defense counsel has requested that the jurors be told in both "preliminary instructions, and during final instructions, that the juror names will never be revealed to the public, nor the media, and that they may remain entirely anonymous should they choose to do so."  The motion also requests that the judge sequester all jurors.  Absent sequestration, the motion requests that "jurors congregate at a third party location, and be driven to the courthouse by security officers."

I will be on WBAL this Sunday at 6:00 am to talk about the motion and other jury related issues involving the Freddy Gray Case.

Judge Still Waiting to Release the Names of the Tsarnaev Jurors

Reuters: Judge delays release of juror names in Boston bombing trial