Opinion ID: 449643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Impanelling The Jury

Text: 16 Prior to trial the government moved that the voir dire be conducted without disclosing the names, addresses, or places of employment of prospective jurors. In support of its motion, the government submitted an affidavit of an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) that requested that jurors be kept anonymous to protect them either from retaliation or the fear of retaliation. The affidavit stated that jurors might reasonably fear harassment, retaliation or worse from the defendants who, it was claimed, were responsible for the murder of several individuals that the Council believed were government witnesses. The affidavit asserted that the Council had agreed to pay a million dollars for the murder of government witness Nicky Barnes. The government also cited the widespread notoriety the case had received and the serious charges the defendants faced, which left them little to lose by tampering with witnesses or obstructing the trial. When papers in opposition to the motion were filed, the court heard oral argument. After argument, the government filed an additional affidavit from a different AUSA, which stated that Nicky Barnes had informed the affiant that defendant Guy Fisher had bribed a juror at a prior trial at which Fisher had obtained a hung jury. The affiant alleged that a reliable informant told him that Fisher had paid the juror $25,000 to obtain a hung jury and that Fisher had attempted to have witnesses killed. Fisher's counsel filed an answering affidavit that labelled the jury tampering allegations hogwash, and requested a hearing on this issue, which was denied. 17 The district court later decided that the jury should be anonymous and sequestered, and on voir dire instructed prospective jurors not to reveal their names, addresses or places of business, although he did ask those from the Bronx and Manhattan what part of the county they were from. Judge Pollack explained to the jurors that he was keeping their identity anonymous to prevent media curiosity from interfering with their sworn duty to consider only the evidence when deciding the case.