The January 6 Trials and Their Impartial Juries - A Developing Oxymoron?

On March 8, 2022, the first jury to hear one of the trials for the January 6 Capitol attack returned a guilty verdict for the defendant, Guy Reffitt. The jury–which took only two hours to deliberate–found Reffit guilty on all five of the felony charges. The outcome of this case will impact other pending cases for those involved, especially those contemplating taking a chance at trial. And for those defendants, given the high publicity and political nature of January 6, there are ongoing concerns of finding impartial juries to hear their cases.

When picking a jury, particularly for high profile cases, parties look for jurors with limited to no knowledge of the event to combat any preconceived opinions. However, given the nature of January 6, finding jurors with limited to no knowledge of the event is nearly impossible. January 6 has received ongoing media attention from nearly all news sources, some of which provide drastically different perspectives of how the events unfolded.

Some may consider focusing on jurors who don't keep up with the news in hopes that they have limited to no knowledge about the attack. But, not so fast–the event has made its way into pop culture, resulting in SNL skits, social media memes, and even an HBO documentary about the attack.

Additionally, the trials are being held in Washington D.C., a predominantly democratic population. Given the political nature of these cases, defense attorneys worry about finding jurors that can set aside their political beliefs and be impartial. 

So, what is the solution?

The District Judge in the Reffitt case addressed these concerns for the January 6 trials. Judge Dabney Friedrich acknowledged that most, if not all, of the potential jurors would have some knowledge of the events, which is unusual when picking a jury. However, he suggested that, instead of asking whether the potential juror was familiar with the events, the “critical question” was whether the potential juror had “such fixed opinions” over what happened. 

What will jury selection look like moving forward?

Parties will want to know the extent that each potential juror is familiar with January 6. It could be helpful to ask about how frequently they watch or read the news, which sources they prefer, and potentially delving deeper into the potential juror’s trust in news sources. Defense attorneys may prefer jurors who keep up with multiple news sources, potentially with different reporting styles, showing an ability to explore alternative perspectives.

The January 6 trials present a unique opportunity to show just how much technology has changed the concept of the impartial jury. When all of America is watching closely as these trials unfold, it could become increasingly more difficult to create a jury that is unfamiliar with the events. Accordingly, parties on both sides will have to tweak their strategies to account for these hurdles.