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No waiver of jury trial [NOT FINAL]

Lydia Krebs won in State v. Bowers, No. 100,805 (Kan. App. Sept. 25, 2009), reversing a Miami County DUI conviction. The issue, apparently not contested by the state, was that the record did not include a personal waiver of the right to jury trial:

The district court failed to advise Bowers of his right to a jury trial or to even raise the option. There was no discussion between Bowers and the court regarding the jury trial right he was waiving by proceeding to a bench trial. In fact, Bowers did not speak a word during the status hearing. There is nothing in the record to indicate he was aware of his right to a jury trial or had voluntarily and knowingly waived it.

I wonder why this is published, other than to remind attorneys of the requirement to have a personal waiver on the record (or in writing). I know that some jurisdictions may be a little more informal about this type of thing, but the appellate court is pretty good about enforcing the personal waiver requirement. See the previous case blogged about here.

Full post as published by Kansas Defenders on September 29, 2009 (boomark / email).