In most cases, juror names are public record, but access is controlled by the judge and usually opens up only after the verdict. Federal law requires every district court to adopt a written plan setting out when juror identities are disclosed to the parties and the public.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1863 – Plan for Random Jury Selection In rare cases involving safety concerns or intense publicity, a judge can empanel an anonymous jury and keep names sealed permanently. Everywhere else, the presumption runs toward disclosure.
The Presumption Is Openness
The Supreme Court has held that the public and the press have a qualified First Amendment right of access to criminal proceedings, including jury selection. In Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, the Court ruled that these proceedings cannot be closed unless the judge makes specific findings on the record that closure is essential to preserve a higher value and is narrowly tailored to serve it.2Cornell Law School. Press-Enterprise Company v. Superior Court of California for the County of Riverside The Court acknowledged that a juror’s name can sometimes be withheld to spare that person embarrassment, but framed it as a narrow exception rather than the rule.3Library of Congress. Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of Cal., 464 U.S. 501 (1984)
Openness serves practical ends. When the public can see who decided a case, it becomes harder for courts to seat unrepresentative panels, and the losing party has a basis to challenge the jury’s composition if something looks wrong. Judges still control timing and method, but the pull is toward disclosure.
What’s Public During Jury Selection
Not every list of names is available on request. There are layers, and each has its own rule.
Every federal district court keeps a master jury wheel, the large pool of names drawn from voter rolls and other source lists. The clerk randomly pulls names from this wheel and mails qualification forms to those individuals. If the court prepares an alphabetical list of the names on the wheel, that list cannot be disclosed except as allowed under the district’s jury plan or specific statutory exceptions.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1864 – Drawing of Names From the Master Jury Wheel
The broader jury selection records, meaning the papers the clerk uses throughout the selection process, are locked down tighter. Under federal law, these records generally cannot be released until the master wheel has been emptied and refilled and every juror drawn from the old wheel has finished serving. Anyone who discloses them in violation of that restriction faces up to a $1,000 fine, up to a year in prison, or both.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1867 – Challenging Compliance With Selection Procedures The one carve-out: a party preparing a legal challenge to the selection process itself can inspect and copy them.
So the master pool is closed. What becomes public is the identity of the jurors actually seated on a specific case, and even that is on the judge’s schedule.
Once potential jurors report for a specific trial, voir dire begins in open court. Attorneys and the judge question each candidate about biases, backgrounds, prior legal involvement, family, and media habits. The public and press can watch and listen. Written questionnaires stay under the clerk’s control, and in sensitive cases the judge may move parts of the questioning to sidebar or chambers, but that requires findings on the record.
When Names Become Available After the Verdict
Once the verdict is read, the calculus shifts. Many judges release the full list of seated jurors to the parties and the public at that point. Others impose a cooling-off period, letting jurors get back to their routines before reporters arrive at their doors. The length of any delay is entirely at the judge’s discretion. Some courts release names within days. Others hold them for weeks or months.
In the most extreme cases, a judge can order juror identities sealed permanently. That takes a compelling justification, and the standard mirrors the general rule: the seal must be essential to protect a higher interest and narrowly drawn to that purpose.
A juror is never required to talk to anyone about a case after it ends. Requests from attorneys, journalists, and members of the public can all be declined without explanation. If a juror is threatened or harassed, the court can issue a protective order for that individual.
Anonymous Juries: The Exception
An anonymous jury is one where the jurors’ names, addresses, and sometimes workplaces are withheld from the public, the press, and often the defendants. It’s a serious departure from the default, and courts treat it that way.
The prevailing federal approach requires the judge to find two things: strong reason to believe the jury needs protection, and reasonable precautions to prevent prejudice to the defendant. In weighing whether protection is warranted, courts generally look at five factors:
- Whether the defendant is connected to organized crime or a group with the resources and motivation to reach jurors.
- Whether the defendant or associates have shown the ability to carry out intimidation or violence.
- Whether the defendant has previously tried to tamper with witnesses or obstruct the process.
- Whether conviction would carry heavy prison time and large financial penalties, creating strong incentive to interfere.
- Whether extensive pretrial publicity has already made it likely that juror identities would spread widely.
No single factor decides the question, and circuits weigh them differently. The judge also has to make sure anonymity itself doesn’t signal to the jury that the defendant is dangerous. Common safeguards include a neutral explanation to the panel about why names are being withheld and enough latitude during voir dire for attorneys to still exercise meaningful strikes.
Why the Rules Exist
The reason courts guard the timing of disclosure, and occasionally seal names outright, is tampering. Under federal law, anyone who tries to influence, intimidate, or impede a juror faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both. Attempted killing or tampering involving a juror in a serious felony case carries up to 20 years. A killing is punished under the federal murder and manslaughter statutes. If the offense involves physical force or threats during a criminal trial, the maximum can be raised to match the longest sentence available for any charge the jury was considering.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1503 – Influencing or Injuring Officer or Juror Generally These penalties apply to anyone, not just the defendant. A relative, friend, or hired go-between who contacts a juror with intent to influence the outcome is equally exposed.
How to Find Out Who Served
If you’re trying to identify jurors in a specific case, the practical route is the court clerk’s office in the district where the case was tried. The clerk can tell you whether names have been released, whether a delay was ordered, or whether the panel was anonymous. State courts follow their own rules, and disclosure practices vary considerably from one jurisdiction to the next, but the same basic pattern holds: the presumption is public, the judge sets the timing, and sealing takes a specific reason on the record.