Behind every great lawyer is an even greater paralegal who knows where everything is.

✨ Enjoy an ad-free experience with LSD+

Legal Definitions - bench trial

LSDefine

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is practice.

✨ Enjoy an ad-free experience with LSD+

Definition of bench trial

Bench trial is a type of trial where the judge alone decides the facts of the case and applies the law, without a jury. The term "bench" refers to the judge who presides over the trial.

  • John's case was heard in a bench trial, where the judge made the final decision.
  • The defendant opted for a bench trial instead of a jury trial.

These examples illustrate how a bench trial works. In the first example, John's case was heard by a judge alone, without a jury. The judge decided the facts of the case and applied the law to make a final decision. In the second example, the defendant chose to have a bench trial instead of a jury trial, meaning that the judge alone would decide the outcome of the case.

Law school is a lot like juggling. With chainsaws. While on a unicycle.

✨ Enjoy an ad-free experience with LSD+

Simple Definition

A bench trial is when a judge decides the outcome of a case instead of a group of people called a jury. The judge listens to the evidence and decides what the law says about it. In the United States, people usually have the right to a jury trial, but sometimes they can choose to have a bench trial instead. This depends on the rules in each state.

A judge is a law student who marks his own examination papers.

✨ Enjoy an ad-free experience with LSD+

It is better to risk saving a guilty man than to condemn an innocent one.

✨ Enjoy an ad-free experience with LSD+