Jack Smith asks judge to ramp up protections for potential Trump jurors: 'A matter of national importance'

10 October 2023

On Tuesday, October 10, special counsel Jack Smith asked Judge Tanya Chutkan to implement measures to protect potential jurors in one of the two federal cases against former President Donald Trump that he is prosecuting.

Politico's Kyle Cheney, on X (formerly Twitter), reported that Smith's request was "in part based on Trump's direct attack on a New York court clerk in his ongoing civil trial."

Trump is facing four separate criminal indictments as well as a range of civil lawsuits, including a civil fraud case initiated by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

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In the federal criminal case that Barack Obama appointee Chutkan is overseeing, Smith alleges that Trump violated federal laws in his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

Cheney tweeted a copy of the October 10 court document showing Smith's request.

"Trial in this matter — in which the defendant, a former president, is charged with attempting to overturn the presidential election, disenfranchise millions of Americans, and obstruct the peaceful transfer of power — is a matter of national importance and will likely generate significant public attention," Smith wrote. "To ensure that voir dire in this case proceeds in an orderly, efficient, and fair manner, the Government proposes that the Court use a written juror questionnaire shortly in advance of in-person jury selection."

Smith continued, "A questionnaire would save time by allowing the Court to excuse some potential jurors without requiring them to appear in court, and by permitting the Court and the parties to organize and streamline their questions for in-person voir dire. Because the questionnaire process will give the parties early access to prospective jurors' identifying information and the ability to conduct open-source research regarding them, the Court should impose reasonable boundaries for such research and reiterate its practice — standard among courts in this District — of prohibiting public identification of potential or selected jurors."

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