Judge Lewis Kaplan purposefully did not disclose why he advised jurors to keep their identities secret in the high profile case
After the verdict was read in the defamation trial between writer E Jean Carroll and former president Donald Trump, the judge overseeing the trial suggested the jurors never reveal their identities.
At the end of the two-week trial, the jurors, who were purposefully made anonymous due to the high-profile nature of the case, are now free to identify themselves by name if they wish.
“My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury,” Judge Lewis Kaplan advised them in the courtroom.
Judge Kaplan did not explicitly explain why he was offering the advice, however, previous legal actions against the ex-president have led to threats of violence against both jurors and judges from Trump supporters.
How much you wanna bet trump’s legal team leaks some of the court documents? The ones that ‘happen’ to name the jurors?
Luckily they don’t have access to those. I’m not even sure the judge did. I think only the Marshalls and the clerk of courts. Otherwise they are completely sealed.
Judge Kaplan said Trump will face an anonymous nine-person jury, with the names, addresses and places of employment of prospective jurors kept secret, saying he found “strong reason” to provide special protections for jurors at the civil trial.
https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-e-jean-carroll-trial-judge-jury-1861347
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/nyregion/trumps-defamation-trial-carroll-jury.html
Kaplan also did this on the first Carroll case he presided over, for which this case was held to determine damages.
https://www.ncsc.org/newsroom/jure/2023/mar-31
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23721313-kaplan-ruling-in-carroll-v-trump-jury
