Judge Willie, recently assigned to the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, on Monday scheduled Thursday, August 13, for jury selection, insisting that the case must be heard by a properly constituted and sequestered jury to protect the integrity of the trial. “We wish to state herein that these cases can’t be tried without a jury, especially sequestered jurors, and in order not to repeat the mistake of last term, where the drug case was tried without sequestered jurors and was tampered with,” Judge Willie said. Judge Willie cited Article 21(h) of Liberia’s 1986 Constitution, which guarantees an accused person the right to a jury trial, as well as provisions of the Jury Manual governing the sequestration of jurors. He explained that keeping jurors sequestered during the trial is intended to limit their exposure to external influences, including public pressure, threats, persuasion or bribery. With jury selection set for Thursday, the court is expected to put in place measures restricting contact between the selected jurors and outside parties for the duration of the trial.