Anonymity of Juries
The American criminal justice system has traditionally made the identities and addresses of jurors known to the judge, the prosecution, and the defense. That tradition began to erode with the unprecedented sua sponte trial court decision to use an anonymous jury in the case of United States v. Barnes, a highly publicized criminal trial of notorious organized crime figures in New York City. Since "Barnes," Federal prosecutors in New York have requested and been granted anonymous juries in a number of similar cases, a development which has generated criticism. This paper first addresses the issue of whether juror anonymity violates a defendant's sixth amendment right to a jury trial by adversely affecting the defendant's ability to exercise effectively peremptory challenges during voir dire. It also discusses the effect an anonymous jury may have on the presumption that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. Also considered are attempts by trial judges, through particular jury instructions, to minimize or eliminate prejudice to defendants resulting from the use of an anonymous jury. And finally the paper examines the need for
United States Constitution amendments V, VI, XIV. some pretrial impressions or opinions of merits of important,
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2753
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)
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