For Immediate Release
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rejects Jury Secrecy Proposal
Nov. 19, 1998 - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has
unanimously rejected a proposal to keep personal information about
jurors private. The State Bar of Wisconsin praised the decision, saying
it would ensure an open court system in the state. The proposal would
have kept personal information about jurors from lawyers even during
jury selection. This would have made picking an unbiased jury more
difficult, lawyers said.
Bar officials also said the claim that juror anonymity is needed to
foster a greater willingness to perform jury service is unfounded. "Bar
members didn't feel there was enough of a risk to the jurors to warrant
the rule change. This would actually hinder a fair trial," said Jenny
Boese, Government Relations Coordinator at the State Bar. Bar officials
also said threats to former jurors are very rare, and there is no
evidence to show that there is a problem. They said the current
situation does not warrant throwing out existing statutes governing the
availability of information to parties and the public regarding jurors
who make decisions in a public forum.
Other opponents also said the proposed rule would have violated the
state's Open Records Law.
The proposal came from the Records Management Committee (RMC),
chaired by Taylor County Circuit Court Judge Gary Carlson. According to
Carlson, the court system has a duty to protect jurors' right to
privacy. He also said jurors often leave the court system worried about
public disclosure of their private information. Four years ago, the
committee began drafting a policy on distributing information through
electronic and traditional means.
While the Supreme Court rejected the secrecy proposal, it did agree
not to ignore the concerns about protecting the jurors' privacy. The
court did not take any follow up action, but left the door open to
future discussions.
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