I think it is his call and if there have been threats I don’t think it is a bad decision.
It’s probably the correct ruling. But everything this Judge does is suspect.
We’ve never heard anything about any such threats before today. Perhaps that’s what some of the secret discussions have been about. I’m ok with not releasing juror names.
But FWIW, I also have a tinge of suspicion that the Judge just can’t help glom for the cameras/media and is positioning himself to get more attention.
Indeed. Releasing the names would result in a frenzy of Facebook and Twitter mining, hoping to find the political views of the jurors. And threats of course. And they would inevitably get the wrong person with a same name and harass them…
Absolutely agree he shouldn’t. If the individual chooses, they can do so on their own.
If Trump and his minions can affect prominent national security folks, imagine what they would do to a juror, given the chance.
Question for those in the know: If Russian intelligence ops can swing an election, what’s to prevent them from swinging (or pressuring) a juror? Is there anything institutionally in place to mitigate against this possibility?
About time he made a decision that was right.
I would like to know the nature of the alleged threats and where they’re coming from. If for no other reason to help kabosh them if they come from liberal sources, but also to verify there are actual threats .
If the names are not public now, then it seems completely unnecessary (if not “dangerous” to the jurors themselves) to release them until after the trial has concluded…if even then.
I’m stull quite surprised they weren’t sequestered.
That makes sense. It would explain the presence of security staff in the private discussions. Although it’s difficult to tell without being in the courtroom, my impression is that the secret discussions coincided with a change in the judge’s behavior – finally apologizing for some of his mistakes and advising the jury to disregard his statements about the evidence. I wonder if the jury received threats from cult followers of the Dotard, and the judge began to have a better idea what is at stake in this trial.
Too many wackos around, if I was on that Jury I sure as hell wouldn’t my name released.
“The calls are coming from inside the White House!”
Juror identities should be kept secret until a verdict is rendered. If threats have been made, they should be kept secret past the verdict. Actually, I think that ought to be the rule rather than the exception.
Citizen: Your honor, I’d like to have the identities of the jurors in the case of United States vs. Wxyz.
Judge: Why do you want that information?
Citizen: I want to talk to the jurors.
Judge: What business is it of yours? You’ve no business talking to the jurors while they are deliberating. After deliberations, they are entitled to their private lives – none of them are public citizens. I’ll tell you what. Give me your contact information, and I’ll contact the jurors. If one or more them want to talk to you, they can reach out.
I’m stunned that they weren’t. Surely the prosecution would have asked for sequestration (although I acknowledge that may have the effect of putting the jury in a bad mood and blaming the prosecution) and if so I wonder why it wasn’t granted.
In these tRumpian times it’s essential that they remain anonymous. As we well know anyone who does anything the the Reality Show Star deems to be against his interests will be called out either by himself or some shitbird like Alex Jones.
Law enforcement has a bead on a suspect.
“I don’t feel right” about releasing the names, Ellis said.
I’d like to say it surprised me that these “media organizations” even asked for the jurors’ names.
There were.
He would challenge their citizenship, have them separated from their families, and deported.