He said he was setting up a procedure for interviewing jurors in panels of 75.

Under Federal law, he said, defendants in a trial are not permitted to interview jurors for such a reason.

But reporters regularly interview jurors after they have reached a verdict.

As lawyers interviewed potential jurors, the judge interrupted at times.

In six days of individually interviewing prospective jurors, he has accepted 52 people and dismissed 79.

In 1978, a federal appellate court confirmed the right of reporters to interview jurors after a trial's conclusion.

Attorney and author Mark Lane said that he interviewed several jurors after the trial.

He had become alarmed, unnecessarily it seems, that reporters would try to interview jurors before the trial was over.

Lawyers for the attorney general will probably try to interview jurors in coming days before making a decision, he said.

Still, some experts who interview jurors after trials and conduct community surveys on legal issues say they have found no evidence of such fear.