Prosecutors Demand Identities Of Jurors' Who Found Derek Chauvin Guilty Of Murder Be Kept Secret Out Of Fear They Will Be Harassed
Aug. 16 2021, Published 6:57 p.m. ET
The prosecutors who scored a conviction against Derek Chauvin are demanding the jurors' names remain under seal despite media outlets fighting to know who found the ex-cop guilty of George Floyd's murder.
In a scathing response to the media obtained by Breaking Celebrity News, the Minnesota State prosecutors hit back at the media giant's plea, asking the court to "restrict access to jurors’ identities to protect jurors from harassment."
An organization called Media Coalition asked the court to release the names of the jurors, just two months after Chauvin was hit with a 22.5-year prison sentence for the murder of Floyd.
But prosecutors are saying not so fast, claiming they need protection following what the state calls the "most open trial in American history."
"This Court should deny the Media Coalition’s motion and maintain the jurors’ anonymity for the time being," the new documents read. "Under the Minnesota rules of procedure, the common law, and the First Amendment, this Court’s April 23 Order properly balances the need to protect jurors from harassment, the need to assuage future jurors’ potential concerns for their safety, and the values of public access."
Adding that "in its November 2020 and April 2021 Orders, this Court made detailed and 'specific findings' that, if jurors’ names became public, jurors in this case could b