Fraud trial of George Santos to begin next month with an anonymous jury
A federal judge has decided that former U.S. Rep. George Santos’ fraud trial in September will have an anonymous jury, but prospective jurors won’t have to fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of him
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The fraud trial against former U.S. Rep. George Santos, slated to start in a matter of weeks, is coming into focus after a federal judge ruled Tuesday that jurors will have their identities kept secret from the public.
They won’t, however, be required to fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of Santos when they arrive for jury selection Sept. 9, as his lawyers had requested.
Judge Joanna Seybert said during a brief hearing in federal court on Long Island that she agreed with the government’s assessment that a questionnaire would only bog the proceedings down.
She said questioning each potential juror in person would allow her and both sides to ask more varied and probing questions to elicit more truthful responses.
