Filed: Feb. 02, 2018
Latest Update: Feb. 02, 2018
Summary: ORDER SEALING JUROR INFORMATION F. DENNIS SAYLOR, IV , District Judge . Under the District of Massachusetts Plan for Random Selection of Jurors, "[n]o person shall make public or disclose to any person not employed by this Court the names drawn from the Master Jury Wheel until the jurors have been summoned and have appeared, or failed to appear, in response to the summons. Any judge of this Court may order that the names of jurors remain confidential thereafter if the interests of justice
Summary: ORDER SEALING JUROR INFORMATION F. DENNIS SAYLOR, IV , District Judge . Under the District of Massachusetts Plan for Random Selection of Jurors, "[n]o person shall make public or disclose to any person not employed by this Court the names drawn from the Master Jury Wheel until the jurors have been summoned and have appeared, or failed to appear, in response to the summons. Any judge of this Court may order that the names of jurors remain confidential thereafter if the interests of justice s..
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ORDER SEALING JUROR INFORMATION
F. DENNIS SAYLOR, IV, District Judge.
Under the District of Massachusetts Plan for Random Selection of Jurors, "[n]o person shall make public or disclose to any person not employed by this Court the names drawn from the Master Jury Wheel until the jurors have been summoned and have appeared, or failed to appear, in response to the summons. Any judge of this Court may order that the names of jurors remain confidential thereafter if the interests of justice so require." D. Mass. Plan for Random Selection of Jurors § 10(a); see generally In re Globe Newspaper Co., 920 F.2d 88 (1990).
The Court hereby finds that the interests of justice require that the names and addresses of the jurors in this case remain confidential for the duration of the trial and for a reasonable period thereafter. The evidence (or anticipated evidence) in the case includes evidence of murders, attempted murders, and possible violent retaliation against cooperators. Three out of the sixteen jurors impaneled in this case have independently expressed concern, directly or indirectly, for their safety and/or privacy over the course of the first two days of testimony. (Trial Exs. A, B, & C). Although there is no evidence of any threatened retaliation against any jurors, and the Court has no specific reason to believe that jurors are in any actual danger, the jurors have a reason for concern that is not present in the ordinary criminal case. To date, there has been no press interest in obtaining the identities of the jurors, and therefore the impact on the First Amendment rights of the press appears to be minimal.
Accordingly, in order to reassure the jurors and to ensure that their consideration of this case is not distorted by concerns for their safety, security, or privacy, the Court hereby ORDERS that the names and addresses of the jurors in this case be sealed and remain confidential for the duration of the trial and thereafter until further order of the Court, and shall not be disclosed by any court employee, attorney, or party. Any counsel who retains information concerning the addresses of jurors from the empanelment shall promptly destroy or delete that information. This order is subject to such reconsideration and/or supplementation as may be appropriate under the circumstances.
So Ordered.
