Prosecutors
Fight for an End to Jury Trials
Information
courtesy of Lawrence Taylor - DUIblog
There
are few things as frustrating to many judges as having to let a
time-consuming jury take away their power to decide the case. And
nothing so frustrating to any prosecutor than 12 citizens standing
between him and a conviction.
As
I mentioned a few days ago in "Arizona Denies Right to Jury
Trial in DUI Cases", the Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled
that defendants charged with certain misdemeanors -- primarily DUI
-- are not constitutionally entitled to a jury trial. The problem
is that there is a statute in Arizona which specifically entitles
the defendant to a jury trial in DUI cases. But judges and prosecutors
have now joined forces in an attempt to deny the citizens of Arizona
their legal right to a jury trial if charged with drunk driving.
As
reported in The Arizona Republic (February 7, 2005):
Prosecutors
and municipal court judges in Arizona are now pushing to eliminate
the right to a jury trial for misdemeanor drunk-driving charges
in the wake of an Arizona Supreme Court decision....
The
opinion was published Jan. 14 , and since then, prosecutors in
Gilbert, Mesa, and Bullhead City have already asked that DUI jury
trials be canceled, and municipal court judges and magistrates
in Phoenix and Tucson have already canceled some, pending hearings
or a clarification from a higher court.
The
prosecutors are certain they'll prevail and defense attorneys
fear they will.
The
main obstacle is a state statute that explicitly grants jury trials
in DUI cases. At question now is whether that statute is rendered
moot....In response to [an earlier court decision], the Arizona
legislature amended the DUI laws, saying in statute 28-1381 (f)
that "the defendant may request a trial by jury and that
the request, if made, shall be granted."....
|
