oncealing from the jury the real reason for anonymity. The principal justfication offered for anonymity was to prevent jury tampering, but the court approved an instruction that deliberately made no mention of that, only of the necessity to protect jurors from "unwanted and undesirable publicity and embarrassment and notoriety and any access to you which would interfere with preserving your sworn duty to fairly, impartially and independently serve as jurors.22 In almost every case, the trial judge explains to jurors that, due to the trial's notoriety, anonymity is necessary to prevent the media and the public from invading their privacy and impairing their impartiality.23 Critics claim that jurors read through this facially neutral instruction because no juror would believe he was being insulated from anyone other than the defendants or their sympathizers.24 This assumption would thus require judges to refrain from making any suggestion concerning the jurors' extra-judicial contacts, lest defendants be cast in a negative light. Indeed, many convicted defendants successfully argue on appeal that the jury was either not adequately cautioned to avoid outside influence or that juror contact with third parties prejudiced the defendant's case. Cases that inspire significant media attention and public passion raise special concerns about juror insulation. The effect of explosive media reports and hostile public opinion on a defendant's fair trial rights has long perplexed judges.25 When notorious criminals are tried, a juror could easily feel pressure to act as a public avenger and thus could believe that his anonymity is aimed at isolating the jury from forces and opinions hostile to the defendants. But because some effort is always made to caution the jury against any outside influence, it seems illogical to conclude that juror anonymity could be perceived only as presumptive evidence of a defendant'...
