The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled again on August 11th that the names of jurors in the criminal trial of former Allegheny County Coroner Dr. Cyril H. Wecht must be released to the public. The court said that U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab, who presided over the trial, failed to give sufficient reasons for keeping the jurors' names secret.
Historically, anonymous juries are a recent phenomenon. The court found that the reasons Judge Schwab gave for keeping the names secret - overwhelming media attention and the fear that news organizations would disrupt the trial by trying to interview prospective jurors' families or friends - weren't strongly compelling enough to justify withholding the names.
The court also said that Judge Schwab did not comply with the spirit of an earlier ruling, ordering that the names be released. In January, The 3rd Circuit ordered the names of the jurors made public prior to the swearing in of the jury. Judge Schwab released a list containing the names of all prospective jurors, with no indication of which names belonged to the jurors who would be serving.
In response to the most recent ruling, Judge Schwab ordered the clerk of court's office to notify the each of the 12 jurors and six alternates that their names will be released. Schwab said that he plans to release the names on August 18th.
The full text of the opinion is available here.