Jurors' names in Missouri to be hidden from public

ST. LOUIS -- Citing media pursuit of jurors in the wrongful murder conviction of a St. Louis woman, the Missouri Supreme Court is preparing to enforce a proposal to shield from the public and press the names of jurors in criminal cases statewide.

Backers of the move say it makes jurors safer, while critics argue the plan keeps the workings of the courts from scrutiny.

"What you have here is a rule where the government has not really shown a compelling interest to close this information after the trial is over," said Denise Lieberman, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union in St. Louis. "It frustrates the purpose of the First Amendment and freedom of the press."

While St. Louis and St. Louis County court rules pretty much already have sealed criminal jurors' identities, jury lists in criminal cases across Missouri will be kept secret beginning Jan. 1 under a rule adopted months ago.

The lists and accompanying questionnaires filled out by jurors will be open only to the trial court and the parties. At the trial's end, they will go under court seal, unless needed in an appeal or for another "good cause."

At least eight states have adopted or considered measures to seal juror information in criminal cases.

The new Missouri rule was recommended by an 11-member panel of judges, prosecutors, a defense lawyer, a public defender, an assistant attorney general and a law professor.

TV show sought names

Missouri Supreme Court spokeswoman Beth Riggert said the idea came out of concern for shielding jurors from questions after an appeals court reversed the St. Louis County murder conviction of Ellen Reasonover and ordered her freed from prison in 1999.

Riggert said some national television shows sought the names of the Reasonover case's jurors, hoping to locate them for interviews about their reaction to the appellate ruling. But under rules adopted by the judges, names of jurors in the county's criminal cases are not public record.

Jean Maneke, an attorney for the Missouri Press Association, said the statewide move to shield juror names is unnecessary because judges already have the power to act case by case. She said the change could make it harder for the public to know whether jury panels represent a cross-section of a community, and whether some people get preference in exemptions from service.

The state Constitution has a "clear mandate" that court proceedings remain open, Maneke said.