Conn. Newspaper Defends Naming Jurors
On Sept. 9, the front page of The Connecticut Post, a daily paper
based in Bridgeport, was dominated by a story about the jury selection
process in a court case that involved the death penalty. Accompanying
the story was an illustration of 18 empty chairs with personal
information about each juror, like their name, hometown and occupation.
On
Sept. 10, a Connecticut Superior Court judge, Robert J. Devlin Jr.,
excused one juror and one alternate after they expressed concern for
their personal safety. The defendant’s lawyer asked for a mistrial
based on what the paper wrote, but his request was denied.
Did the paper do wrong? No, says James H. Smith, editor of The Connecticut Post, which is owned by the MediaNews Group.
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