A judge granted Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ request to restrict identifying information about jurors in the Georgia election interference case, a new court filing shows.
In a two-page order Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee imposed strict limitations regarding the identities of jurors’ involved in any upcoming trial in the case against former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants.
The court’s standing rules restrict the use of photographic or electronic equipment without a judge’s prior consent. McAfee’s order offers additional protections by prohibiting drawing in an identifiable manner, or otherwise recording images, statements or conversations of jurors or prospective jurors.
The judge further ordered that jurors and prospective jurors be identified only by their number in court filings while the trial is pending and prohibited disclosure of juror information that would reveal their identity, including names, addresses, telephone numbers or identifying employment information.
McAfee judge allowed exceptions for the audio recording of the jury foreperson’s announcement of the verdict or questions to the judge.
The order applies to the trial for Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, whose joint trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 23, and a subsequent trial for the other 17 defendants, including Trump.
Sept. 14, 202301:44
Willis’ office and counsel for a group of media intervenors who had opposed the district attorney’s request consented to the order, Monday’s filing notes.
The media coalition, which included the Associated Press, CBS News, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, had asked for a more limited order, arguing that Willis’ request would restrict the ability of news organizations to meaningfully report on the jury selection process.
An attorney representing the media coalition declined to comment on McAfee’s order.
Willis this month made her request to keep jurors’ names and likenesses secret during any upcoming trial. In her filing, Willis asked McAfee to issue an order that would prevent courtroom cameras from showing the jurors and would also prevent written descriptions of the jurors from being published.
Willis said that “it is clearly forseeable” that trial jurors would be doxed if their named were made publicly available, adding that doxing would jeopardize jurors’ ability to make impartial decisions in the case without external influence “both placing them in physical danger and materially affecting all of the Defendants’ constitutional right to fair and impartial jury.”
Her request came after Trump supporters posted to a fringe website the purported names and addresses of the grand jurors involved in the indictment filed last month. The indictment, in accordance with state law, listed the names of the grand jury members but not their addresses or other personal information.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
