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A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a jury. [1] The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems ( Roman , Islamic ) use bench trials for most or all cases or for certain types of cases.
Either a group (known as a "bench") of "lay magistrates", or a district judge, will hear the case. A bench must consist of either two or three magistrates. Alternatively, a case may be heard by a district judge (formerly known as a stipendiary magistrate), who will be a qualified lawyer and will sit singly, but has the same powers as a lay bench.
During the 1969 trial of the notorious gangsters, the Kray twins, the trial judge was prepared to exclude any juror who had read some of the current lurid newspaper reporting. [46] However, in a trial arising from the conduct of a picket in the bitterly contested UK miners' strike (1984–1985) , a miner who had worked throughout the conflict ...
The Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand in the City of Westminster. The High Court of Justice was established in 1875 by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873.The Act merged eight existing English courts – the Court of Chancery, the Court of King's Bench, the Court of Common Pleas, the Court of Exchequer, the High Court of Admiralty, the Court of Probate, the Court for Divorce and ...
In a bench trial, judges are professional triers of fact. In a bench trial, the judge makes findings of fact and rulings of law. [5] The findings of a judge of first instance are not normally disturbed by an appellate court. [6]
Magistrates sit in tribunals or "benches" composed of no more than three members. Although three is the usual number, a bench is properly constituted with two members. However, if they sit as two on a trial and disagree about the verdict, a retrial will be necessary (see Bagg v Colquhoun (1904) 1KB 554). [24]
Trial of Jean II, Duke of Alençon, October 1458. In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court.
When dealing with either-way offences, and after the defendant has indicated a plea, it is the role of the bench to decide whether the case is suitable for summary trial or whether to decline jurisdiction and send the case to the Crown Court – what is called the allocation decision.