Alan Dershowitz, Harvard Law professor emeritus, told Newsmax that keeping jurors' identities secret in the upcoming fraud trial of former Rep. George Santos undermines accountability and transparency in the legal process.
The fraud trial against Santos, slated to start in a matter of weeks, is coming into focus after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that jurors will have their identities kept secret from the public.
"I don't like it. I've never liked it," Dershowitz said on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."
"It may be necessary when you have a Mafia case. Were you worried that the jurors will get killed?"
"It's becoming routine, and it's wrong. The public should have the right to know the names of jurors. Jurors should be held accountable for their verdict," he said.
"When we know the names of jurors, people can send in information about them that might not come out during the voir dire," he said.
Jurors won't be required to fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of Santos when they arrive for jury selection Sept. 9, as his lawyers had requested.
Judge Joanna Seybert said during a brief hearing in federal court on Long Island that she agreed with the government's assessment that a questionnaire would only bog the proceedings down.
She said questioning each potential juror in person would allow her and both sides to ask more varied and probing questions to elicit more truthful responses.
Dershowitz said that's insufficient.
"There are too many cases where you get convictions and then three months later, six months later, we find that, Oh, my God, that juror was on the jury? Don't you know about her background or his background?"
"I think the more we know early on, the better," he said.
"Even though it was the defendant who asked for an anonymous jury in this case, I don't think it should have been granted," he stated firmly.
Santos has pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working, and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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