Tampa criminal lawyers are often questioned about who will ultimately decide whether they are guilty or innocent during their criminal trial. In criminal cases, the defendant can request a bench trial or a jury trial.
Many Tampa criminal lawyers will recommend their clients waive their Constitutional right to a jury trial in very narrow situations. A bench trial means that evidence is presented only to the judge and the judge comes to a verdict. Our Tampa criminal lawyers will generally only recommend someone waive their right to a jury trial, when the facts of the case are potentially disturbing to a jury and there is concern the jury may ignore the law because of the facts. This often occurs in cases involving either child victims or some sort of sex crime.
Many criminal defendants and Tampa criminal lawyers prefer to try cases with juries because of the assumption that juries tend to be more understanding of the Defendant than a judge. Juries also tend to be more willing to focus on the facts of a case, when the law is bad for a criminal defendant. According to the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, every defendant has the right to a trial by jury. So if you want a jury trial, you can have a jury trial. There are some restrictions to this, such as in traffic court (for minor offenses such as speeding or failure to stop at a stop sign) there are no juries. Additionally, under Florida Statue §918.0157, a Defendant doesn’t have a right to a jury if a Defendant faces imprisonment for less than 6 months. Furthermore, if the court announces its intent not to imprison a criminal defendant and to withhold adjunction if the Defendant is convicted, the defendant is not entitled to a jury. County Court Judges in Hillsborough County often enter Orders of Non-Incarceration to avoid a jury trial on minor criminal charges.
If you or someone you know is facing criminal charges and debating whether they would like a jury trial, contact the Tampa criminal lawyers of Hackworth Law, P.A. for a free consultation. We appreciate the time you dedicated to reading our Tampa criminal lawyer blog, and look forward to working with you in the future.