During a brief hearing into the question of whether the names of the jurors should be released, Judge James Zagel said he wanted to reveal to the lawyers, certain communications he had received from the public about the case:
* Zagel said several emails expressed the hope that voters who voted for Blagojevich would have to sit on the jury to "more than atone for their sins."
* One mentioned "The Apprentice"' said Blagojevich was an awful person and they hope he goes to jail.
* Another said they could not see "how anyone who had so few skills could have committed such a crime."
* One anonymous writer said they were "depending on the judge to see that the accused gets what he deserves.". (The judge noted that they did not say what that was.)
* Zagel said he was even stopped by someone on the street offering the same opinion of one of the earlier emails, that people who voted fro Blagojevich should now be forced to sit on the jury. The judge quickly added that when he hears, "hey Judge" on the street, "that is not necessarily a good thing."
Zagel noted that none of the communications were belligerent, or what he would classify as "threatening.". And he said he had not heard from anyone about the case in the last three months.
Zagel set a July 23rd hearing on motions to release the juror names.
