I’m all for openness, but I object!
The media should shut up about the Trump jurors
I was astounded Tuesday evening when I turned on CNN and saw anchors and analysts revealing details about the seven jurors picked so far in the first criminal trial of Donald Trump.
There weren’t any names or faces revealed, but many other facts were. At the risk of compounding the error, but citing one example to make the point, here’s how CNN described a juror.
“The third seated juror is a corporate lawyer. He’s originally from Oregon. He gets his news from The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Google. He’s a younger man who’s never been married and doesn’t have kids.”
How long is it going to take an internet sleuth to figure out who this guy is, if it hasn’t already happened by the time I push “publish” on this column?
Then a whole host of problems will ensue. Trump’s anonymous Internet trolls will start digging into the juror’s background to find any whiff of controversy that might be there. He will be threatened with all manner of bodily harm. There might be offers of vast riches if he will vote one way or another. Stories about him will be made up. People will contact him under false pretenses, trying to trap him or trip him up. Look no further than Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, who were approached by a publicist for Kanye West – offering to help but really to pressure them to change their story. Both women had to leave their homes and move into a safe house because of the vile, racist threats made against them.
The corporate lawyer originally from Oregon is just one example. Revealing details about the other jurors were reported, that in my view, give way too much information.
Iowa rules protect jurors
Jury selection is supposed to be sacrosanct. Here in Iowa, where we have one of the most open court systems in the country for electronic media coverage of trials, there are rules that protect jurors. Reporters can be present but cameras and microphones are not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection. Jurors’ names are never reported unless they choose to reveal their names after the trial. During the trial, jurors are never shown on camera. Never. When they file in and out of the courtroom, the camera operator is instructed to point the camera at the floor, or away from the jury box.
All of this is done to protect the jurors, who have been summoned to perform their civic duty. They haven’t chosen to be there. The law says they MUST be there. They and their families need to be protected, particularly from criminal defendants who are dangerous. Our criminal justice system is corrupted if jurors vote to acquit someone because they fear for their lives if they vote guilty.
What do we need to know?
I have no issues with general descriptions of the jury panel as a whole. For instance, it’s made up of eight women and four men, or the racial makeup, if that’s relevant to the case.
But specific details about individual jurors should be off-limits. This may be the only Trump case that goes to trial before the election. As a country, we can’t afford for it to run off the rails.
Do we Americans need to know these specific details about individual jurors? At this point, we don’t. If, after the trial, they wish to reveal details about their personal lives to help us understand why they arrived at the verdict, that is their choice.
Until then, I wish the news media would show some restraint – something we’re not very good at.
The full list of Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members:
I am a journalist of 54+ years and totally agree. This is like tabloid pap. What purpose does it serve anyone? It endangers the lives of jurors and their families and just plain ignores the reason for not IDing them in the first place. People will be coming up with all kinds of excuses to not serve on a jury if this is what a so-called "journalist" thinks is proper reporting. Journalists, know your place in this event. People watch tell-all YouTube for this kind of rabble, which is just what it is. Responsible news outlets need to lead the way and show some responsibility. Shameful.
As always, you hit the nail on the head. I wish you were teaching journalism at every college in the country. Can we figure out a way to clone you?