Jury vs. Judge Trials

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Do most defendants choose jury trials or judge trials?

(The cases I read about in the newspapers mostly have juries. Though I think a judge trial is more likely to result in a correct verdict (i.e., fewer false convictions and fewer guilty defendants who escape judgement. I guess the defendant doesn't want a fair verdict based on the fats and the law, they want to win.)

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Type: Question • Score: 3 • Views: 930 • Replies: 14

@gollum,

Well, of course they want to win. Most people would rather be free than 'right'.

But juries aren't bad arbiters in the law. As you note, they don't have a judge's experience, education, etc., but that's the way our system is structured.

Parties in civil cases may (it depends on the type of case and the demographics of the area) choose juries because there can be a perception that they will award larger verdicts. And on the defense side in civil cases, they may want a jury if a plaintiff is particularly loathsome or seems to be overreaching/bilking the system. A civil plaintiff with an injury that looks fake or exaggerated can anger a jury and end up with nothing, particularly if that plaintiff acts entitled or obnoxious.

Is it just? Fair? Right? Probably not.

1 Reply

@jespah,

jespah-

Thank you.

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Speaking of trials, that case where the doctor raped (or sexually assaulted, whatever the proper term is) all those gymnasts was on the news over the last couple days, and there was a clip of the judge taunting the defendant, telling him he was really guilty and pressuring him to reverse his not-guilty plea.

While I assume that he is in fact guilty, isn't that highly prejudicial behavior by the judge and highly damaging to the guy's right to a fair trial?

1 Reply

@oralloy,

Actually, he had pled guilty. It wasn't a trial; that was a sentencing hearing.

1 Reply

@gollum,

If you are ever a defendant, you should listen to your lawyer. It is the defendant's choice whether it is a judge or a jury trial. Most people choose to go to a jury trial because most of the time that is the best chance to win.

Juries have to be unanimous to convict you. That might be part of it, all you have to do is sow enough doubt in one person out of twelve.

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@jespah,

jespah wrote:

It wasn't a trial; that was a sentencing hearing.

I see. She was asking him if he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial.

Still, I wonder if her attitude during sentencing won't result in higher courts overturning the sentence and ordering a resentencing by a different judge.

Of course, I'd expect a new judge to also impose a 40 year minimum sentence, so maybe no big change in the end.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Most people choose to go to a jury trial because most of the time that is the best chance to win.

Juries have to be unanimous to convict you. That might be part of it, all you have to do is sow enough doubt in one person out of twelve.

But sometimes a jury might not care that a case hasn't been proven and just want to convict someone that they assume is guilty despite the lack of proof, whereas a judge might be more willing to accept that a case has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

In countries where judges routinely do the convicting, it usually requires a three judge panel to convict someone. I don't recall if a unanimous or majority vote is required.

1 Reply

@oralloy,

Of course Oralloy. There are some situations where a good lawyer will know that there is a better chance of winning with a judge. Either way you are rolling the dice, you choose the option that gives you the best odds.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona-

Thank you.

Yes. As I see it, the best system for a society to use is the one that will minimize the number of guilty persons who are acquitted and the number of innocent persons who are convicted. Analogously for civil trials.

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@oralloy,

I think you're right, that if he appeals he'll end up in the same boat.

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@jespah,

Actually since he is 54 now, and he'll have to serve at least 52 years of his federal sentence even with time off for good behavior, he won't enter a state prison until age 106. Even a 25 year minimum (which is the lowest minimum available as part of his plea deal) would be the rest of his life unless he lives longer than 130 years.

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@maxdancona,

12 member jury is for capital felony murder. Everyone else gets a satanic jury of 6.

1 Reply

@YouNme,

YouNme wrote:

12 member jury is for capital felony murder. Everyone else gets a satanic jury of 6.

What cereal box did you read that on?

1 Reply

@Ticomaya,

Quote:

670 - Approximate number of the Beast
DCLXVI - Roman numeral of the Beast
666.0000000 - Number of the High Precision Beast
665.9999954 - Number of the Pentium Beast
0.666 - Number of the Millibeast
/666 - Beast Common Denominator
666 x sq. rt (-1) - Imaginary number of the Beast
1010011010 - Binary of the Beast 6
$665.95 - Retail price of the Beast
$566.66 - Costco/Price Club price of the Beast
Phillips 666 - Gasoline of the Beast
Route 666 - Way of the Beast
666 F - Oven temperature for roast Beast
666k - Retirement plan of the Beast
666 mg - Recommended Minimum Daily Requirement of Beast
Word 6.66 - Word Processor of the Beast
i66686 - CPU of the Beast

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Jury vs. Judge Trials

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