Seattle Criminal Lawyer | Bench Trial or Jury Trial?

So you have been accused of a felony. Perhaps a DUI, maybe an assault, perhaps a burglary. And the prosecutor isn’t providing you anything you feel contented taking as a plea bargain. Your Seattle criminal attorney tells you the single option, if you do not like the proposition, is a trial.

You’re all right with that, but are a bit hesitant on the subject of the particulars. In particular, you aren’t sure if you should request a jury trial or ask for a bench trial. Your criminal attorney in Seattle is pushing for a jury trial, however you just don’t know if you can rely on a bunch of people you do not know to make the honorable verdict.

Selecting between a jury trial or a bench trial (where the judge makes the choice of your guilt or innocence) can at times be complex. Let’s look at a couple of scenarios that may want you to go one way or another (or why you might want to consult a Seattle DUI lawyer before deciding).

Firstly, the jury trial. You like jury trials since jurors usually aren’t as worn-out as judges (they’ve heard a lot of excuses over the years and begin to stop trying to discover the disparity). They try hard to do the accurate thing and will frequently present you at least a fighting chance. But they can be unpredictable also.

You typically wish for a jury trial when the circumstances is fairly questionable, when you possess some inconsistencies in the evidence that just don’t add up, and when you want the fact finder to give you the benefit of the doubt. Juries are capable of doing this. With judges it’s a little more hard.

Next, the bench trial. You commonly like to have these when you have a exceedingly technical defense, the facts of the case are really horrible (the jury will virtually be guaranteed to be in opposition to you from the opening), or you are going to establish your argument on a legal issue that you believe the judge will comprehend better than a jury. This too is a crapshoot, as judges, though not unpredicatble, have a propensity to lean toward the prosecution.

In the end, the decision to go jury trial or bench trial should most likely be made by your Seattle DUI attorney. They possess the experience to identify which one to employ, and they comprehend the complexity of the conclusion. No matter which you pick, though, it’s probably going to be an uphill struggle. Good luck!

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