鳥瞰:アメリカ刑事陪審「評議の秘密」 : 連邦証拠法606（b）と評決後インタビュ―

The United States government's rule concerning the inspection of jury verdicts has the tendency to tighten its control over press coverage. The reason for the rule is that the after-verdict interviews given to the press can be intimidating for the former jurors and infringe on their privacy. They also harm jurors' free deliberations in the jury room. The legislature adopted Federal Rule of Evidence 606(b), which prohibits a former juror from being a witness in a court appeal and testifying there about the deliberations of a jury trial. The court interprets exceptions to 606(b) narrowly and has strengthened the injunctions on contact and jury anonymity. These results clearly show that the court is more interested in the finality of the jury verdict and the maintenance of the jury system than the justice of the jury verdict in an individual case. We should expect the laws and regulations on coverage after jury verdicts to be strengthened from now on.