Why judge Peter Cahill will keep Derek Chauvin's jury anonymous for the time being

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By VT

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Throughout Derek Chauvin's highly-publicized three-week trial, his jury remained anonymous - and for good reason.

After sealing his fate on April 20, a dozen Minnesotan jurors aged between their 20s and 60s have still retained that anonymity.

Per AP, Peter Cahill, the judge who presided over the case, said each of the 12 jurors would remain anonymous until he felt it was safe for their names to be released.

Indeed, in the trial, which was televised, the jurors were not shown and they were referred to only by number.

The aim was to protect these individuals from any external influences and also ensure Chauvin's right to a fair trial.

The Hennepin County judge did not reveal for how long they would stay anonymous, however, he did inform potential jury members in the leadup to the trial that they would be identified in the press eventually.

As long as he felt it was necessary, though, Cahill promised to protect their privacy.

Little was known about the individual jurors, however, it was reported that six of them were white and the remaining six were either Black or mixed race.

According to CBS Minnesota, the foreman was Juror No. 19, a white man in his 30s who revealed as part of jury selection that he is employed as an auditor.

The man said he tries his best to resolve conflicts and makes decisions based on objective truth rather than his emotions. Juror No. 19 also said he has a friend who is a canine officer with the Minneapolis Police Department.

He shared that while he is in support of the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole, he is against some of the actions taken by its activists.

He did not support or think highly of counter-movement Blue Lives Matter.

As part of a questionnaire that he filled out, he said he had heard Floyd was on hard drugs but felt it should not impact the trial.

"Whether you are under the influence of drugs doesn’t determine whether you should be living or dead," he wrote, per the outlet.

The jury ultimately found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter as part of a unanimous verdict.

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo