VI. Waiver of Jury Right

• Library: The Rights of the Accused under the Sixth Amendment (ABA) (2016 Ed.)

VI. Waiver of Jury Right

All courts allow jury waiver, but most courts have limitations and requirements that must be met before a defendant can waive this right. Generally, a defendant is permitted to waive the right to a jury trial if the request is expressly and intelligently made.¹¹⁰ The Supreme Court has found that the defendant can make an intelligent choice to waive, even if he made the request while representing himself.¹¹¹ But such a waiver will not be valid if the defendant is unaware of essential facts regarding the sentence sought by the prosecution.¹¹²

Under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure the waiver must be in writing, the government must consent to the waiver, and the court must approve the waiver before the defendant can successfully waive the right to a jury trial.¹¹³ In Singer v. United States, the Court affirmed the rule requiring that the court and government assent to a defendant's jury waiver.¹¹⁴ The justices emphasized that there is no constitutional right for a criminal defendant to have a case heard by the judge, without a jury.¹¹⁵

Several states follow the federal standard; they mandate that both the government and the court must consent to the jury waiver before a defendant's waiver request is granted.¹¹⁶ Other states merely require that the defendant make the request to waive a jury trial in writing; no agreement by the government or the trial judge is needed.¹¹⁷ Some states allow the defendant simply to make an oral or written request to waive the right to a jury trial. The request will be granted as long as the court finds that the waiver is made knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently.¹¹⁸ And in still other states a waiver shall be found if the defendant fails to request a jury trial.¹¹⁹ A few states take the process a step further by requiring—as in the federal...