Bench trial

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A bench trial in U.S. law is a trial before a judge alone in which the right to a jury trial has been waived by the necessary parties (or there was no right to a jury trial).

1 United States
2 England and Wales
3 Civil law
4 See also

[edit] United States

In the case of a criminal trial, in most states the criminal defendant alone has the ability to waive the right to a jury. In a U.S. civil trial, one of the parties must request a jury trial (and pay a small fee), otherwise a bench trial will result. See FRCP 38.

With bench trials, the judge is the finder of law and the finder of fact. In some bench trials, both sides have already stipulated to all the facts in the case (such as civil disobedience cases designed to test the constitutionality of a law). These are usually faster than jury trials due to the fewer number of formalities required. For example, there is no jury selection phase, no need for sequestration and no need for jury instructions.

A bench trial has some distinctive characteristics, but it is basically the same as a jury trial without the jury. For example, the rules of evidence and methods of objection are the same in a bench trial as in a jury trial. Bench trials, however, are frequently more informal than jury trials. Without the time consuming showmanship of a jury trial, the parties are often able to concentrate on the real questions at issue. It is also less necessary to protect the record with objections, and sometimes evidence is accepted de bene, or provisionally, subject to the possibility of being struck in the future.

[edit] England and Wales

The majority of trials that take place in England and Wales do not feature a jury and are heard by a judge sitting alone. The Crown Court is the only court to use juries as a matter of course. Civil matters are almost entirely dealt with by a judge sitting alone who acts as both the finder of fact and the arbiter of law.

[edit] Civil law

In countries with "Roman law" or civil law, there is no "jury" in the English sense, and trials are necessarily bench trials. However, in more complicated cases, Lay Judges can be called. These are not randomly selected like juries; they are volunteers, and vote as judges.