diff --git a/utils/checkstyle.py b/utils/checkstyle.py
index 8242314c1bb5..18a68d2cf33c 100755
--- a/utils/checkstyle.py
+++ b/utils/checkstyle.py
@@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ class CommitFile:
 class Commit:
     def __init__(self, commit):
         self.commit = commit
+        self._trailers = []
         self._parse()
 
     def _parse(self):
@@ -217,7 +218,6 @@ class Commit:
 
         self._title = lines[0]
 
-        self._trailers = []
         for index in range(1, len(lines)):
             line = lines[index]
             if not line: