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HERE THE JUDGE’S DECISION TO EMPANEL AN ANONYMOUS JURY WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY SUFFICIENT REASONS; NEW TRIAL ORDERED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing defendant’s convictions and ordering a new trial, determined the judge had not set forth sufficient reasons for withholding the identities of the jurors. The jury remained anonymous throughout the trial. Jurors were referred to solely by their juror numbers:

… County Court did not cite any threats to this jury and instead based its refusal to disclose the identities of prospective jurors upon a ground that the Court of Appeals has specifically found to be inadequate, namely, “anecdotal accounts from jurors in unrelated cases” … . The People concede that County Court erred in empaneling an anonymous jury, in fact, but argue that reversal is not required because the issue is unpreserved and the error is, in any event, harmless. We disagree on both counts. First, when County Court announced that it would not disclose the names of the prospective jurors, defense counsel immediately “object[ed] to that” and argued that no factual showing of a need for anonymity had been made in this matter. County Court then “den[ied] [the] application” and “note[d] [the] exception.” Defendant therefore preserved the argument for our review by registering an objection to County Court’s refusal to disclose the identities of the jurors in a manner that permitted the trial court to address the issue (see CPL 470.05 [2] …). Second, for the reasons set forth in People v Flores (153 AD3d at 193-195), we are unpersuaded that harmless error analysis is applicable to such an error. Thus, reversal and remittal for a new trial is required. People v Heidrich, 2024 NY Slip Op 01841, Third Dept 4-4-24

Practice Point: Although an anonymous jury may be appropriate is some circumstances, the failure to support the decision to withhold the identities of the jurors must be justified by sufficient reasons. Here the reasons (anecdotal account from jurors in other cases) were deemed insufficient and a new trial was ordered.

 

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