New York, March 24: Jurors’ names will be kept secret at the upcoming civil trial in a writer’s rape lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, a judge ruled Thursday, citing “a very strong risk” they would otherwise face harassment and more.
Anonymous juries are unusual, particularly outside criminal cases.
The Associated Press and the Daily News of New York objected to the plan to conceal the identities of jurors in the trial over columnist E. Jean Carroll’s claim – denied by Trump – that the Republican raped her in the 1990s.
But U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said he was concerned that jurors would be subjected to unwanted attention from the media and “harassment or worse” from supporters of a president who has railed against the judicial process, or from people unhappy with any verdict that might ensue. (AP)
