Special Counsel Jack Smith Wants to Keep Jury Questionnaire Sealed
Special Counsel Jack Smith has once again appealed to the courts to keep records sealed.
Smith had previously gone to Judge Aileen Cannon to have the witness list sealed, but he was denied.
Now he is asking her to seal the jury questionnaire.
Keep It Quiet
If you have ever been called to jury duty, you are aware that both sides have a list of questions they ask in order to block or allow jurors in a trial.
Smith is hoping to have the questions he wants to ask kept sealed.
According to Smith, he is worried that Trump supporters that may be called will have time to craft answers to make them appear neutral when their minds have already been made up to help Trump.
So, he wants the questionnaire sealed to ensure they are not familiar with any questions before they get questioned in court.
In the filing, Smith wrote, “Potential jurors may have strong views about Trump, his co-defendants, or the Government in this case.”
He continued arguing that “providing advance information about the contents of the questionnaire increases the risk that potential jurors may craft their answers to increase their odds of serving or avoiding service on the jury.”
The filing continued, “Because that thorough inquiry is aided greatly by ensuring that prospective jurors do not access the substance of voir dire until the time it is conducted, particularly in cases involving pretrial publicity like this … courts often seal proposed and final questionnaires until after jury selection.”
Trump lost a motion in Cannon’s courtroom earlier due to a ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Cannon’s ruling sounded as though she would have ruled in Trump’s favor, but she noted that the Appeals Court had already set the precedent, so her hands were tied.
Cannon has been coming under fire from legal pundits in the mainstream media, as they are acting as though she is rigging the case for Trump.
She has already had a handful of her rulings overturned on appeal, so she is surely being careful at this point, not wanting to lose her robe for perceived bias in favor of Trump.
