Parties in criminal trials should at least consider whether to exercise the right to trial by jury or have a trial to the judge instead. I am aware of no hard and fast rules on when that is a good choice -- it is a judgment call in the final analysis. Factors, obviously, include which judge (reading the tea leaves about a judge is not a precise art), costs (a judge trial is likely to be less costly than jury trials), no hung jury (although some may like the possibility), etc.) I did recently find an article addressing the issue of a key factor -- statistical outcomes -- that readers may find helpful. The article apparently appeared in the Wall Street Journal, but is republished here: Tamer El-Ghobashy, Judge's Acquit More Often Than Juries (Fordham University School of Law Newsroom 8/6/11), here.
The article is a good, quick read. The article also discusses factors other than statistical outcomes.
The article uses as its centerpiece a case where the defense lawyer was Susan Hoffinger, an exceptional New York lawyer, whose bio is here. I had the pleasure of working with Ms. Hoffinger and her father, Jack Hoffinger (bio here), in the KPMG-related criminal mega-case in NYC. Jack is exceptional also.
Friday, July 20, 2012
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I hope that they have a really good criminal defense. I would be really nervous if I were in their position. Thank you so much for sharing these stats. THey are really interesting.
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