Jurors in coroner’s trial must be identified, U.S. appeals court rules

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected the use of anonymous jurors in a coroner’s trial, calling their identification a “well-established part of American judicial tradition.”

The 118-page ruling Friday overturned a district court judge’s initial plan to keep the jurors’ names from the public in the fraud trial earlier this year of former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht.

U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab had proposed the plan to prevent news agencies from interviewing the families or friends of prospective jurors. But the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, siding with news organizations and Wecht, blocked Schwab’s plan in a brief order issued in January.

Despite the order, the judge only allowed the names of the seated jurors to be read once in open court, and later issued a list of all prospective jurors, without distinguishing who had been chosen.

The 3rd Circuit noted that nearly all defendants have friends and enemies, so the court said Schwab’s reasoning “would justify anonymity in virtually every jury trial, whether or not it attracts media attention.”

“Of course, in a given case, a risk of jury tampering or excessive media harassment may exist,” Judges D. Brooks Smith wrote for the 2-1 majority. “But we are satisfied that district judges are well-positioned to address these risks on a case-by-case basis, and in such cases, to make particularized findings on the record.”

The ruling comes just days before the 3rd Circuit hears arguments in Wecht’s appeal. His trial ended in a hung jury in April, and his lawyers hope to avert a new trial on double-jeopardy grounds. Arguments on that issue are scheduled for Monday.