You have a constitutional right to be tried by a jury of your peers. The hope here is that you’ll be judged fairly by this group of individuals and only when they agree that you’re guilty beyond a reasonable doubt will a conviction occur. While there are certainly benefits to a jury trial, it’s not your only option. In some instances, you may want to consider whether a bench trial is in your best interests.
What is a bench trial and what are its benefits?
In a bench trial, you try your case to the judge, who will be the sole decider of your guilt. There will be no jury selection process, and you’ll be limited in your ability to choose which judge hears your case.
That said, there are some benefits to a bench trial. To start, your case may weave its way through the criminal justice system more quickly given that you won’t have to deal with the jury selection process. Also, the judge hearing your case will know the law better than members of a jury would. This means that the decider of your fate is less likely to be swayed by emotions. Since evidence can oftentimes be streamlined in a bench trial, these cases tend to be less costly given that they can reach final resolution in a more expeditious manner.
Additionally, you may be able to gain a sense of how the judge will rule in your case based on their history of hearing other similarly situated cases. This could give you an advantage, especially since juries are notoriously unpredictable.
Are there drawbacks to a bench trial?
There certainly can be. Depending on the facts of your case, you might want to have the opportunity to appeal to the emotions of individual jurors. Your cross-examination of the state’s witnesses may be more impactful in a jury trial, and you have more freedom to choose who makes up the body of people who will ultimately pass judgment on your guilt and innocence. That said, as mentioned above, juries can surprise when you least expect it.
Also, if the judge hearing your case has a reputation for convicting similarly situated individuals or taking an aggressively punitive approach to sentencing, then you may want to avoid a bench trial and take your chances with a jury.
Which legal strategy is best for you?
That’s a question that only you can answer. But you shouldn’t gloss over this aspect of your case. After all, deciding between a bench trial and a jury trial could make a huge difference in your case. So, be sure to fully consider the facts of your case and gain an understanding of what each trial process could look like under the facts of your situation.
Regardless of which type of trial you want, you need to ready yourself to make aggressive criminal defense arguments in your case. These arguments need to be based on the evidence and in light of the law while still speaking to the elements of the charged offense that the prosecution has to prove to obtain a conviction. By doing so, you’ll hopefully be able to raise enough doubt, either in the judge’s mind or the minds of the jurors, to avoid conviction. If you’d like to learn more about how to build an effective criminal defense, then now is the time to read up on the process and what you can do now to protect your future.
