Questions tagged [bench-trial]
11 questions
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How can Edward Snowden be denied a jury trial?
Is the US right to a trial by jury a conditional right which can be revoked preemptively?
It was my understanding the US Constitution allowed anyone accused of a crime to be judged by a peer jury. However, Edward Snowden would not be allowed to…
steampowered
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Does Trump have the right to waive a jury trial and request a bench trial in the classified documents case?
In the Federal criminal case against Donald Trump in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, does former president Trump have the ability to waive a jury trial and request a bench trial?
Given Aileen Cannon's history in cases involving the…
JohnFx
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Depp/Heard trial: "Did I read this right?" Why is this allowed?
In the Depp/Heard trial one of the lawyers reads headlines to Johnny Depp in the witness stand and then only asks "Did I read that right?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ze3gAu8mZLM
The lawyer appears to be using this as a tool to read negative…
Hilmar
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When and why are jury trials preferred to bench trials of criminal charges?
A jury trial consists of a judge, who is the arbiter of law, and a jury, which is the "fact-finder."
A bench trial consists only of a judge, who determines questions of both law and fact to render a verdict.
In the U.S. there are some hurdles to…
feetwet
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Any solid research on error rate of criminal conviction system: jury vs judges?
To my knowledge most countries use one of two systems for determining the guilt of the accused in criminal cases: “jury of your peers” (who don’t have to justify their decision) vs “judg(es), possibly with lay jurors” (who have to justify their…
manduca
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When is evidence deemed adduced in bench (judge-alone) criminal trials?
Background
This question is answered easily for jury trials: something is put in evidence ("adduced") when the jury hears / sees it and there is no direction from the judge to disregard it. This is because the jury is only supposed to hear evidence…
Greendrake
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Can a retrial admit evidence given in the original trial?
Say there was a criminal trial, and the verdict was later set aside on appeal due to some critical procedure errors happened during questioning of one specific witness (out of many). For example, a line of questioning on redirect examination was…
Greendrake
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Are damages in civil cases assessed by the judge or the jury?
In common law countries, criminal cases are usually tried by jury, but the judge is responsible for sentencing. Even in the United States, where there is a constitutional right to a criminal trial by jury, sentencing is the responsibility of the…
sjy
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Under what circumstances do civil cases go before juries in the U.S.?
In a criminal case, per Rule 23, either party may demand a jury trial (and the defendant usually does).
A civil case, however, is often decided by a "bench" (judge) trial. Under what circumstances is a civil case likely to go to a jury trial, and…
Libra
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Can a trial judge deliberately overlook blatantly contradictory testimony from a witness?
Suppose a witness in a civil bench trial testifies to both X and to Not X.
For the sake of argument, assume that there are no other factors that would add ambiguity. For example, suppose a witness testifies that he was in Alabama on January 30th,…
lgshost
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Can a US criminal bench trial be conducted without a defendant's jury waiver?
In 1980, the Court of Appeals of the Third Circuit ruled that the Fifth Amendment's due-process clause overrides the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial in complex civil cases. This opinion was in re Japanese Electronics Antitrust…
BakedAlaska624
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