The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that state courts can keep juror identities secret. This rejects a southern Arizona journalist's challenge who argued that the right to observe trials included access to the names of jurors.
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that state courts can keep juror identities secret, rejecting a challenge from a southern Arizona journalist who argued that the right to observe trials included access to the names of jurors who decide the fate of people charged with crimes.
But Timmer wrote that while the First Amendment implicitly guarantees the right of the public and press to view criminal trials, it does not extend to all “confidential” information. “Accessing jurors’ names would not significantly add to the public’s ability to assure itself that voir dire is fairly conducted or to check the courts in disregarding established standards for jury selection,” Timmer wrote.
Attorneys with the Arizona Attorney General's office argued that revealing juror names would not help the selection process and that disclosing them would expose jurors to the risk of danger and embarrassment. Cochise County courts use secret juries in all criminal trials, and Arizona law says that lists of juror names or other juror information shall not be released unless specifically required by law or ordered by the court.
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