Prince George’s County DUI Jury Trials

In Prince George’s County, individuals can choose whether they want a jury trial or a bench trial. In bench trials, the defendant’s fate rests in the hands of a judge. In a jury trial, an individual’s case rests in the hands of a jury of their peers. An attorney could help you determine whether Prince George’s County DUI jury trials might be beneficial in your case. If you want to know more about trials and the DUI trial process, consult a determined and experienced DUI lawyer that could answer your questions and fight for you.

Differences Between Bench Trials and Jury Trials

The difference between a bench trial and a jury trial is that a bench trial is a trial by a judge. The judge is the sole decider if the state has met its burden of proof of proving every element of any offense beyond reasonable doubt. In a jury trial, which would be in the circuit court, 12 members of the voter and motor rules of the county would have to unanimously find somebody guilty beyond reasonable doubt for there to be a verdict of guilt sustained.

Why Would a Lawyer Suggest a Jury Trial Over a Bench Trial?

A DUI lawyer would suggest a jury trial, because Prince George’s County DUI jury trials may be better in many ways. Whereas the prosecutor has to convince one person in a judge trial, the prosecutor has to convince 12 in a jury trial. However, some charges may be considered uneasy, such as a sex offense case or a case against children, that the average juror may not be able to separate themselves from the emotion and want to find somebody guilt if something has happened to a very vulnerable alleged victim. A judge is more likely to separate themselves and make a decision based upon the facts and whatever is presented rather than be affected by emotion.

Other Traits That Could Lead to a Jury Trial

Common traits of a DUI case that must motivate a criminal defense lawyer to suggest allowing the case to be decided by a jury include whether a jury could be swayed by the facts of the evidence or is more likely to acquit someone over a judge.

Benefits of Jury Trials

The biggest potential benefit for a jury trial for a DUI case is that the prosecutor must persuade 12 individuals to find somebody guilty beyond reasonable doubt. If 11 jurors found somebody guilty but 1 one juror disagreed, it is a hung jury. The state may elect to have it re-tried over and over again or give up, but the defendant could not be found guilty.

Drawbacks of Jury Trials

The potential drawbacks of Prince George’s County DUI jury trials are that a jury sometimes is influenced by emotion and swayed to overlook some of the facts and the requirements of what a juror should do. If a complainant starts crying on the stand, rather than seeing the holes in their story, a jury may only hear the sadness and want to convict somebody because they are swayed by who they perceive to be a sympathetic alleged victim.

The Jury Selection Process

Both the defense and the state are involved in the jury selection process. Both get a list of all jurors’ names, ages, education, and occupation as well as their spouses’ occupations. Most of the time, there are numerous questions that are posed to the jury called the voir dire. These questions are designed to eliminate any juror that could not be impartial or fair in the case.

Once the voir dire process has concluded, the jury’s questions begin. Each side is given a number of peremptory strikes to eliminate a juror if they qualify so long as it is done for a non-discriminatory reason. For example, neither the state nor the defense may say that they do not want any women on the jury or they do not want any teachers on the jury. Even a teacher that is qualified could be eliminated if they feel that they do not want anybody with that career on the jury. There are a limited number of strikes. Once they reach 12, they have their jury.

Benefit of Consult a Prince George’s County DUI Attorney

The benefits of working with a local DUI lawyer when deciding whether to take a case to trial are that a local attorney understands the makeup of the jury pool and the community, understands the nature or preferences of the judges, and oftentimes knows what would and would not be admitted into evidence. That is significant in assessing whether or not a jury trial is appropriate. If you want more information on Prince George’s County DUI jury trials or help determining whether a DUI trial is right for you, consult a capable attorney today.