Why are the names and addresses of jurors read out loud in court?

June 21, 2010 7:45 AM

Why do they announce the names and addresses of jurors after the verdict in a criminal case, rather than just allow people to get that information if they request it?

Apologies if this is something I should be able to find on Google. I'm getting a lot of stuff about the public's right to know who is on a jury, but nothing on this specific question.

I recently served on a jury in a civil trial in Cook County, Illinois. A fellow juror described her experience serving in a criminal case. She was surprised to find that, immediately after the verdict, the names and addresses of all jurors were read out loud. Another juror chimed in with a similar story and expressed discomfort at having this information given out in a courtroom packed with the supporters of someone they'd just sent to prison. If a criminal trial is like a civil trial, anyone who views jury selection will hear your full name repeatedly. But the judge in our case referred only vaguely to where we lived.

I understand that-- in Illinois at least-- the public has access to this information, but why would it be read out loud in that manner, as opposed to making people ask for it?

posted by BibiRose to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Best answer: That does seem odd. I served (as an alternate) on a murder trial last year, and when the verdict was read, the names/addresses of jurors were not mentioned. This was in California.
posted by rtha at 8:53 AM on June 21, 2010

Best answer: Sounds weird. I was a juror on an attempted murder trial in DC and nothing like that happened.
posted by meta_eli at 9:14 AM on June 21, 2010

Best answer: It seems like an efficient way for that information to get entered into the public record (i.e. the court stenographer simply types it in at that time). But kinda creepy, yeah.
posted by misterbrandt at 9:16 AM on June 21, 2010

Best answer: I'm another who recently served on a jury in a criminal trial; they did not do this. (in MA)
posted by ook at 9:27 AM on June 21, 2010

Best answer: It seems worth noting that the information is easily and casually available to the general public, so if this is being done for convenience or other reasons, it also serves to highlight to the jurors that this information is publicly available -- which is to say, any reporter or person thinking revenge-type thoughts is going to get that information anyway, so ceasing to read it will just make jurors less likely to consider the public nature of their judicial contribution (without making that information any less public.)
posted by davejay at 10:14 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: This could be a state-by-state (or municipality-by-municipality) regulation. For instance, when I lived in Delaware, they announced your name when you went into the voting booth. Seriously, they took your voter registration card, held the curtain for you to go into the booth, and yelled "Mary Q. Jones, now voting". I never saw that in any other state I lived.
posted by kimdog at 12:49 PM on June 21, 2010

Best answer: California, Los Angeles County. I have been on at least 5 juries and this never happened. I did not get the impression that any of my information was given out, although we sometimes talked with the lawyers afterwards.
posted by SLC Mom at 8:15 PM on June 21, 2010