Book by Michael Knox.
Life as sequestered juror.
U.S. judge unbans.
6/2/95
My book Anatomy of a Trial chronicles on page 117 that Simpson Trial Judge Lance Ito admonished jurors to ignore the photos [in Simpson’s house when the jury toured it], but one apparently didn’t, at least not to the satisfaction of prosecutors. That, plus allegations that Michael Knox had bet a friend during jury selection that Simpson would be acquitted, moved him off the jury on March 1. Knox apparently was also keeping notes for a book. His The Private Diary of an O. J. Juror, published just three months later, was the first out about the trial.
Page 127 reveals Ito’s concerns about the book being published before the trial was over. “Although a recently enacted law barred former jurors from profiting from their jury experience until ninety days after they had served, Ito’s concern focused primarily on the identities of the jurors still in service and the sequestration site. Although he and I both knew that the major news organizations already had extensive information about all of the jurors, including where they were sequestered, none had made it public. An investigation to ensure that Knox’s book hadn’t compromised the jury and preparing for a hearing about it also took time away from the trial.”
Even though Knox’s book debuted a day or two after the 90-day ban period, a federal judge struck down California’s law prohibiting jurors from selling their stories after they left jury duty.
Anatomy of a Trial blog 