Seattle Criminal Attorney News Blog | Bench Trial or Jury Trial?
January 23, 2010So you’ve been accused of a felony. Maybe a DUI, perhaps an mugging, perhaps a robbery. And the prosecutor isn’t offering you anything you feel contented accepting as a plea bargain. Your Seattle criminal attorney tells you the lone option, if you don’t desire the offer, is a trial.
You’re all right with that, but are a little uncertain regarding the details. In particular, you are not confident whether you ought to demand a jury trial or ask for a bench trial. Your Seattle criminal attorney is suggesting a jury trial, but you just do not know if you can rely on a group of people you do not know to make the appropriate judgment.
Picking between a jury trial or a bench trial (where the judge makes the conclusion of your guilt or innocence) can at times be tricky. Let’s look at a couple of scenarios at the Seattle Criminal Attorney News Blog that may require you to go one way or another.
To start with, the jury trial. You like jury trials because jurors typically aren’t as cynical as judges (they’ve heard a great number of excuses over the years and begin to stop attempting to tell the difference). They strive fiercely to do the proper thing and will frequently present you at least a fighting opportunity. Although they can be unpredictable also.
You regularly wish for a jury trial when the set of circumstances is fairly unsound, when you get various inconsistencies in the facts that just do not add up, and when you need the fact finder to give you the benefit of the doubt. Juries are capable of doing this. With judges it’s slightly more complex.
Next, the bench trial. You typically like to have these when you hold a especially technical defense, the specifics of the case are exceptionally ghastly (the jury will almost be certain to be against you from the beginning), or you are going to establish your defense on a legal topic that you sense the judge will value better than a jury. This too is a crap shoot, as judges, although not unpredictable, have a propensity to tilt toward the prosecution.
In the end, the verdict to go jury trial or bench trial should possibly be made by your Seattle DUI defense attorney. They own the knowledge to recognize which one to use, and they understand the complexity of the verdict. No matter which you select, though, it’s probably going to be an uphill fight. Good luck!
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