How To Conduct Your Own Bench Trial

For almost every serious charge, if you cannot afford an attorney, you will be appointed a public defender. However, for minor traffic tickets, or instances when the State is not seeking jail (I've seen it done on first time DUI cases) if you cannot afford an attorney, you're SOL. If you decide that you do not want to take the prosecution's offer, or you want to contest a ticket you have received, your best bet is to go forward with a bench trial. This post is dedicated to tell you the procedure for how to conduct your own bench trial.

A bench trial is when you have a trial just in front of a Judge. You probably will have a right to a jury trial, but if you have never conducted a jury trial before, going forward with a jury trial is not in your best interest. Jury trials are extremely formal, and require you to know a lot of intricacies about the law. Most judges will not give you the benefit of the doubt just because you're not an attorney. Plus, in many counties, a jury trial will require you to come back for multiple court dates.

A bench trial on the other hand is much more informal. A Judge is most likely to grant you the benefit of the doubt. Nobody expects a normal, non-attorney to know the nuances of the law during a bench trial. Plus, most likely, you will only have to show up for one court date- the trial itself.

Going forward with a trial can be a nerve racking experience. But I am here to make it a little easier on you, by explaining how the procedure works. Most lay people have bench trials for speeding tickets and Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident tickets. I'll use those two cases as an example.

BEFORE TRIAL

You only have one trial; you're one Day in Court. Prepare for it as best as you can. If you have any evidence, bring it with you. I've seen people charged with talking on their cell phone bring in their phone records to Court to prove they weren't talking while driving. If you have any witnesses, say your significant other was in the passenger seat and saw everything that happened, bring that person with you. Maybe you want to print off a map from Google to help explain your case to the Judge. Do everything BEFORE the trial date.

OPENING STATEMENT

Technically, both sides have the opportunity to make some general opening remarks. An opening statement exists so either side can tell the Judge what they think the evidence will show. Remember, no evidence has been admitted yet, so couch your argument to the Judge for what you think the evidence will show. This step is generally not done in bench trials. If the prosecutor doesn't make an opening statement, you probably shouldn't either.

PROSECUTOR'S CASE

It is the State's job to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, it is not your job to prove your innocence. Therefore, the State goes first and presents witnesses and evidence. If it is a speeding trial, then most likely the prosecutor will bring in the police officer who wrote you your ticket. Read my column on Speeding Tickets for further specifics. If you are charged with Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident because you rear ended someone, the prosecutor has to bring in the person who you hit. The prosecutor will also most likely have pictures of the accident, and will probably bring in an officer or two who arrived on scene later. 

What will happen is that the prosecutor will ask their witnesses some questions. The witness is telling a story to the Judge of what happened. After the prosecutor is done, it is now your chance to ask that witness some questions. You don't have to, but you can. If you feel that the witness lied at one point, or failed to tell the Judge some crucial information, this is your opportunity to get the information you want out of the witness. THIS IS NOT YOUR TIME TO ARGUE WITH THE WITNESS.Your sole job is just to collect evidence.

Another piece of useful advice, is to maybe write down some questions in advance or talking points you want to make sure the prosecutor's witness covered before Court. If you're in Court for speeding, you know the prosecutor is going to have the police officer who pulled you over testify. You only have one shot to ask this police officer some questions, make sure you make the most of it. 

MOTION FOR A DIRECTED VERDICT

After the prosecutor has finished with his or her case, it is always a good time for you to ask the Judge for a Motion for a Directed Verdict. You can say these words verbatim, "Your Honor, at this time I would ask the Court to grant my oral Motion for a Directed Verdict." 

What a Motion for a Directed Verdict (MDV) is is that you are asking the Judge to throw out the State's case because they have not proved you guilty. If there is no possible way whatever the State did could show that you are guilty, then the Judge should grant your motion and you're free to go. That's it. 99.999999 times out of a 100, in minor traffic cases, your motion will be denied and the trial keeps going, but it never hurts to ask.

If you hit another driver, and that other driver did not show up, then your motion should be granted. If the State can't prove that you hit another car, then your MDV should be granted. If the prosecutor made a mistake, say in a speeding case where the prosecutor forgot to ask the police officer to tell the Judge what speed you were going, then you should win.

It is also very helpful to Google the law before you go into Court. The specific law should be written on the ticket the police officer gave you. It should look something like this "625 ILCS 5/11-601(a)". It may not exactly be in that format on your ticket, but all that information should be on your ticket. If you then Google that law, you should be able to find every single element of the law you are being charged with. The State then has to prove every element of said law. If the State does not do that, then your MDV should be granted. 

YOUR CASE

It is now your turn in the trial to tell the Judge what happened. If you have any evidence, make sure you show that evidence to the Judge. If you have any witnesses, it is now your time to ask your witness some questions, so your witness can tell the Judge their version of what happened. This is also your time to tell the Judge what happened. 

After you and/or your witnesses finish telling the Judge what happened, it is now the prosecutor's job to ask some questions. Make sure you answer the prosecutor's questions honestly and succinctly. If you feel the prosecutor unfairly tripped up yourself or your witness, you can clarify what you meant to the Judge after the prosecutor is done. 

CLOSING ARGUMENTS

After the trial is over, it is time for closing arguments. First, the prosecutor will make some remarks, then you will make some remarks. After you're done, if the prosecutor wants to he or she can make some more remarks. After that, the trial is over.

For closing remarks, you are more than welcome to explain to the Judge what happened, but that's not really necessary because you just did that. Instead, it is in your best interest to do these two things: 1) If the trial is a he said/she said type of trial, then you should win because the State has not met their extremely high burden. You are a credible witness and the police officer is also credible. When two credible people give two different versions of what happened, the State has not their burden to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 2) If there is any conflicting evidence, and you feel confident doing so, explain to the Judge why the inconsistency exists, and why your version of what happened is the correct version and why the prosecution's witnesses are just mistaken. 

SENTENCING

Truth be told, you will probably be found guilty. I know it stinks, but that's just the way the world works. You might think you are not guilty, or think it's unfair you are found guilty, but the way the law is written probably means you are guilty. There's a chance you could be found not guilty, but if you are, then the Judge will proceed right to sentencing.

For minor traffic offenses like speeding and Failure to Reduce Speed, ask the Judge for 3-6 months of Court Supervision, a small fine, and no traffic school. My article on Open or Blind Pleading works the exact same way during sentencing hearings.

SOME OTHER POINTERS:

• Be as respectful as you can to everybody in the courtroom, ESPECIALLY THE JUDGE. The Judge is person that is deciding your fate. I've seen people be jerks to the Judge during a trial, and guess what? Things did not go very well for them.
• Dress appropriately. After all, you are going to Court. Judges take notice of little things like that.

And that's how to conduct your own bench trial. For any specifics questions, feel free to e-mail me at adamkaplanlawfirm@gmail.com or call me at (224) 218-9254

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NOTE: Adam J. Kaplan and The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan are NOT your attorney. You have not entered into an agreement with The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan. If you would like a free consultation or to be represented by The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan, please click on any of the links in this section or visit the "The Law Offices of Adam J. Kaplan" section on the middle, right side of this blog. The aforementioned was meant to be solely informative, and it should not be construed as legal advice.