DUI Lawyer | Bench Trial or Jury Trial?

So you've been accused of a transgression. Perhaps a DUI, maybe an stabbing, maybe a larceny. And the prosecutor isn't offering you anything you feel comfortable taking as a plea bargain. Your Seattle DUI lawyer tells you the single alternative, if you don't like the deal, is a trial.

You're okay with that, but are a bit tentative concerning the minutiae. In particular, you are not definite whether you ought to request a jury trial or demand a bench trial. Your DUI attorney is promoting a jury trial, but you just do not know if you can rely on a group of individuals you don't know to make the appropriate choice.

Picking between a jury trial or a bench trial (where the judge makes the choice of your guilt or innocence) can at times be challenging. Let's look at a duo of scenarios that might require you to go one way or another (your DUI lawyer should think about this at least).

First, the jury trial. You like jury trials because jurors frequently aren't as jaded as judges (they've heard lots of excuses over the years and start to stop trying to uncover the distinction). They try hard to do the fair thing and will habitually grant you at least a fighting opportunity. Nevertheless they can be unpredictable in addition.

You regularly desire a jury trial when the state of affairs is pretty unsound, when you have various inconsistencies in the facts that just don't make sense, 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 difficult.

Next, the bench trial. You typically like to have these when you have a exceedingly technical defense, the particulars of the case are truly atrocious (the jury will practically be guaranteed to be critical of you from the beginning - trust me, I'm a criminal attorney I know these things), or you are going to establish your argument on a legal topic that you sense the judge will appreciate better than a jury. This also is a crap shoot, as judges, although not unpredictable, have a propensity to slant in the direction of the prosecution.

In the end, the conclusion to go jury trial or bench trial should perhaps be completed by your Seattle DUI attorney. They possess the practice to identify which one to employ, and they understand the intricacy of the conclusion. No matter which you pick, though, it's in all probability going to be an uphill struggle. Good luck!