Last month, Justice Juan M. Merchan ordered that prospective jurors’ names would be shielded from the public, underscoring the need for privacy for those who may decide Donald J. Trump’s criminal fate — and tempt the anger of his followers.
Yet on the first two days of jury selection, several prospective jurors revealed potentially identifying information, reflecting the difficulty of having an anonymous jury in a case with an intense media spotlight.
On the first day, a woman said she worked for a city agency of approximately 500 people and revealed its name. Later, a man who identified himself as a bookseller revealed the name of the small store where he works.
This continued on Tuesday when others revealed the names of employers. While some worked for companies that were large, where the potential jurors could likely remain unidentifiable, others were less cautious. One woman revealed the name of the three-person company she owns with her husband.
Justice Merchan did not interject as the prospective jurors divulged the information, nor did he caution them against doing so.
Juries are not completely anonymous in New York State. Mr. Trump, his lawyers and the prosecutors have access to the names of the prospective jurors. But after a request by the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, Justice Merchan decided to withhold the names from the public. Mr. Trump did not oppose the request.
The accidental self-identifications are a notable departure from how federal Judge Lewis A. Kaplan conducted jury selection in Mr. Trump’s defamation trial in January, brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll.
In the federal system, jurors are allowed to remain anonymous, even to parties in the case. Before potential jurors answered basic questions about their backgrounds, Judge Kaplan instructed them not to reveal personal information.
“Don’t give us anything that could enable anybody to pin you down geographically,” he said.
He also cautioned them not to reveal their names to each other, and when the trial concluded, he left them with these ominous words: “My advice to you is that you never disclose that you were on this jury,” Judge Kaplan said. “And I won’t say anything more about it.”
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