Yes. A defendant can usually can choose to have a jury. Some states however have a minimum amount below which there can not be a jury. The break off point varies. In some states it is no jail time. In others it is below $ 2,500. You will need to check for your state.
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In this state a defendant has a right to a jury trial. He can wave that right. He can have his trial in front of a judge or he can plead guilty. In a number of cases, the prosecutor charges the defendant with a long list of crimes. The defendant can go to trial in front of a jury. If he is not guilty on all counts, he goes free. If he is guilty on all counts, he spends a long time in prison. However, frequently a defendant and his lawyer will try to plea bargain with the prosecutor. If you drop these charges, we will plead guilty to those. If the judge approves, the sentence is shorter than it would be if the defendant was found guilty in a jury trial. The trial could be before a judge and not before a judge.
While it may be ideal if the attorney gave the their client the option, if the defendant has retained the attorney, and authorized that attorney to speak for them, yes, they can.
In addition to guaranteeing the right to an attorney, the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant a speedy trial by an "impartial jury." This means that a criminal defendant must be brought to trial for his or her alleged crimes within a reasonably short time after arrest, and that before being convicted of most crimes, the defendant has a constitutional right to be tried by a jury, which must find the defendant guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."What is a "Speedy" Trial?A "speedy" trial basically means that the defendant is tried for the alleged crimes within a reasonable time after being arrested. Although most states have laws that set forth the time in which a trial must take place after charges are filed, often the issue of whether or not a trial is in fact "speedy" enough under the Sixth Amendment comes down to the circumstances of the case itself, and the reasons for any delays. In the most extreme situations, when a court determines that the delay between arrest and trial was unreasonable and prejudicial to the defendant, the court dismisses the case altogether.What is the Jury's Role at Trial?The Sixth Amendment guarantees a criminal defendant the right to be tried before an "impartial jury," representative of a cross-section of the community, which will consider the evidence against the defendant and decide whether to find him or her guilty of the crime(s) charged. In almost all states, 12 jurors must agree in order to find a defendant "guilty" or "not guilty." In such states, if the jury fails to reach a unanimous verdict and finds itself at a standstill (a "hung" jury), the judge may declare a "mistrial," after which the case may be dismissed or the trial may start all over again.
Trial by jury of our peers.a fair trial
A fair trial must be held in a timely fashion. A fair trial must be held in public with a jury, unless the defendant does not want a public trial and the judge agrees. The jury must be unbiased and represent a cross section of the population. The defendant must be given the time and resources to hire an attorney and formulate a defense. All evidence against the defendant must have been legally obtained.
There is no Amendment that guarantees a trial by a jury of one's peers. The 6th Amendment guarantees the right of trial by an impartial jury, but not of a jury composed of one's peers.
right to a trial by jury