The constitution grants a defendant the right to a 'speedy trial'. Sometimes, the court system can be frustratingly slow when it comes to finishing up a case. A jury trial demand is simply a request that a date be set for a jury trial.
Any party may demand a trial by jury of any issue triable of right by a jury by (1) serving upon the other parties a demand therefor in writing at any time after the commencement of the action and not later than 10 days after the service of the last pleading directed to such issue, and (2) filing the demand as required ...
JURIES CAN BE SYMPATHETIC Unlike an impartial judge, the panel of individuals on your jury could be swayed by emotion and personal experience. This may work in your favor. If you have been overcharged for the crime in question or are a sympathetic defendant, some jurors may be more likely to back you.
A Notice of Demand for Trial or Disposition Pursuant to Penal Code Section 1381 is sent from the Sheriff to the Prosecutor when a subject is incarcerated in the county jail and the subject demands a trial on outstanding charges.
Bias or Prejudice: Potential jurors may feel that they cannot be impartial due to their personal experiences or biases related to the case. Previous Experience: Individuals who have had negative experiences with the legal system, either personally or through family and friends, may be reluctant to participate.
Therefore, the constitutional right to a jury trial only applies to prosecutions involving serious offenses. A serious offense is one where the charged offense carries a maximum penalty of more than six months' imprisonment.
Defendants generally trust that a jury will acquit or render a not guilty verdict more often (than a judge). The O.J. trial certainly validated this belief. Both the defendant and the People have the right to a jury trial in misdemeanor and felony trials (California Constitution, Article I, § 16 and Penal Code § 699).
Jurors, you have the most important role in this trial, because you are the ones who must decide who and what to believe, and answer each of the questions that I have discussed with you. You must decide this case based only on the evidence presented at the trial. You may not decide this case based on anything else.
A motion to strike is a request to a judge that part of a party's pleading or a piece of evidence be removed from the record. During the pleading stage, this can be accomplished by a tool such as Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or a state equivalent.
If a juror has a bias, or there is some other reason why a juror cannot be fair and impartial, the judge may excuse that juror. These are called strikes, “for cause,” in that there was cause to dismiss the juror.