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The jury is the thing. Petty offenses are the barrier.

By Marks & Katz, LLC

 Bill of Rights. (From the public domain.) Yesterday I blogged on a recent marijuana bench trial victory in federal magistrates court.  In my view, however, it is unconstitutional -- absent the clear and informed consent of the criminal defendant on the record in court -- to expose a person to incarceration without a judge nominated by a governor or the president and confirmed by the respective legislature -- or else elected pursuant to state Constitutional provisions -- and without the right to a trial by jury.   Federal judges rely heavily on magistrate judges to handle trials for misdemeanors not jailable for more than six months, for extradition hearings, and for a slew of civil matters and other criminal matters. Among the jurisdictions where I practice law, the most heavy use of magistrate judges at the non-federal level in criminal court is in the District of Columbia, where magistrate judges have wide authority to set bail and release conditions, and the authority to revoke bail for jailable traffic matters that are not jailable over six months...continue to full post

Full post as published by Underdog on February 05, 2009 (boomark / email).