When the CIA or Military release declassified documents they often redact names for the persons safety so why isn’t the same done to witnesses who take the stand during trial?

Question

Why is someone being a witness made public record for everyone to see, putting them in danger? Why can’t we let them remain anonymous like people in CIA and Military files?

In: Culture

Answer 1

Because the witness’s identity is relevant to the evaluation of their testimony, and a trial is about finding facts definitively enough to assess guilt publicly. There’s a constitutional right to confront witnesses against you at trial – cross-examine them and challenge their testimony. If their identities were kept secret, that would be impossible.