In case you haven't heard, this year's general election ballot includes a referendum on a constitutional amendment allowing defendants charged with all but the most serious felonies to waive their right to a jury trial, and have a judge decide whether they are guilty or innocent instead. Forty-nine other states and the federal government allow criminal defendants to opt for bench trials.
Since coverage of the amendment has been fairly low-key, here are two views on whether to vote for or against amednment to help you decide.
The Independent Weeklysupports the proposed amendment:
North Carolina is the only state in the country where defendants automatically receive jury trials. Though it’s not always in the defendant’s best interest to receive a trial by judge, we believe that they should have the choice, in keeping with the rest of the country, provided that they aren’t pressured by their lawyers to waive their jury trial rights. Vote for the amendment.
Durham-based attorney Scott Holmes, the supervising attorney of the civil litigation clinic at the NCCU School of Law and a prominent member of the defense team for Moral Monday arrestees, opposes the amendment:
I oppose the NC Constitutional Amendment allowing judges to replace juries. The prison pipeline is built around pressuring people to get through the system faster. The only leverage people caught in the system have is the jury trial. This is yet another way to allow lawyers and judges to pressure people in trouble to give up rights. It's just more grease in the prison assembly line. People sitting in jail will be told they can get a trial faster if they waive their right to a jury trial, and then judges and lawyers will decide the truth instead of a jury.
So, how will you vote on this important amendment?