An innominate jury, also known as an anonymous jury, is a jury whose members are kept anonymous by court order. This may be requested by the prosecution or defense in order to protect the jury from the media, potential jury tampering, or social pressure to return a particular verdict.
In some cases, the identity of the jury is not revealed to anyone; in other cases, the identity of the jury is revealed to the prosecution and defense, but not released to the public or media.
In most jurisdictions, several criteria are used to determine if an anonymous jury is appropriate. The defendant's involvement in organized crime, the defendant's participation in a group with the capacity to harm jurors, the defendant's past attempts to interfere with the judicial process, the potential that the defendant will get a long jail sentence or substantial fines if convicted, and extensive publicity that could expose jurors to intimidation or harassment are situations in which an innominate jury may be appropriate.