As the government prepares to try two men accused of scheming to behead a U.S. judge and a prosecutor, it has requested an anonymous jury to address possible fears for safety and to shield jurors from intense media interest. It has requested the names, addresses and places of employment of jurors not be disclosed, that jurors be kept together during recesses, they be taken to lunch as a group and they be escorted to and from the courthouse each day.
"The defendants’ demonstrated willingness to retaliate against those involved in [Joseph] Romano’s conviction will undoubtedly prompt jurors to fear for their own safety in sitting in judgment of the defendants, absent anonymity and the other requested precautions," the prosecution argues in United States v. Romano, 12-cr-691.
