Why Do think jurors must remain anonymous?

Answer 1

Anonymity protects the juror from being harmed by the public. If someone is accused of a crime that produces a public response, our culture will do more than form a personal opinion. Some citizens will attempt to seek change by influencing the jurors. This influence will include phone calls, some citizens will make death threats and take action on the jurors that don't respond to the threat. If the common public believes that a specific outcome must occur and the jury does not respond that way, anonymity protects the jurors from being harmed for making a decision that is not in agreement with the public.

Anonymity also protects the juror's ability to be free from outside influences and allows an objective decision based on the evidence. Without such protection, political action groups, or members of common culture, could contact the jurors and try to swing their vote based on different interests. Jurors would receive misinformation that may motivate a decision but have nothing to do with the case. Some would try to get the jurors angry. Others would establishe a social expectation that would bear much more authority than the defense attorney presenting information. Anonymity will protect the jury's decision by allowing the jurors to be free from groups that seek such motivation.

The effect of this protection helps the defendant. If the jurors could not separate themselves from the public, many decisions would simply reflect the status quo rather than analyzing what actually happened. An objective, fair trial is possible with this anonymity as it disconnects the jury from outside influences that would otherwise change the vote.