Identities of Possible Kaczynski Trial Jurors to Be Secret

SACRAMENTO —  A federal judge plans to keep the identities of prospective jurors secret in the trial of Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski because of widespread publicity, court documents showed Thursday.

U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell said prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed during a chambers conference this week that “because of the extensive publicity and interest this case is expected to continue to generate, the jury should be anonymous.”

Kaczynski, 55, is due to go on trial in Sacramento on Nov. 12 on charges of carrying out four bombings that killed two people.

“The court agrees with the parties that partial anonymity is appropriate because of the extensive publicity this case has generated and the number of letters the court itself has received from the public concerning the case,” Burrell wrote in an order.

He said the court had received letters commenting on the case from as far away as Poland and the Netherlands.

The special procedure is necessary to protect jurors from outside influences, Burrell said.

“Therefore the court is inclined to withhold the names, places of employment, residences and employment addresses of jurors and their spouses from the public,” he said.

Similar procedures were followed during the Oklahoma City bombing trial in Denver.

Burrell said he is also considering allowing prospective jurors who were reluctant to answer sensitive questions publicly to answer them behind closed doors.