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  • Home
  • About
    • About
    • Ben Sessions
    • Locations
      • Atlanta, GA Office Location
      • Macon, GA Office Location
      • Columbus, GA Office Location
    • Areas We Serve
      • Albany
      • Americus
      • Atlanta
      • Bartow County
      • Bibb County
      • Brookhaven
      • Centerville
      • Chatham County
      • Chattanooga
      • Clayton County
      • Cobb County
      • Columbia County
      • Columbus
      • Coweta County
      • DeKalb County
      • Doraville
      • Douglas County
      • Dublin
      • Fayette County
      • Gray
      • Griffin
      • Gwinnett County
      • Hall County
      • Hawkinsville
      • Henry County
      • Hinesville
      • Houston County
      • Jackson County
      • LaGrange
      • Lowndes County
      • Macon
      • McDonough
      • Milledgeville
      • Muscogee County
      • Newton County
      • Paulding County
      • Perry
      • Pooler
      • Richmond Hill
      • Roberta
      • Rockdale County
      • Savannah
      • Walker County
      • Walton County
      • Whitfield County
  • Practice Areas
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    • Personal Injury
      • Car Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Slip-And-Fall & Premises Liability
      • Pedestrian Accidents
      • Bicycle Accidents
      • Elder Abuse
      • Product Failure Injury
      • Defective Product Injuries
      • Negligent Security
      • Wrong Prescriptions
      • Wrongful Death
    • DUI Defense
      • 1st DUI Offense
      • 2nd DUI Offense
      • DUI Drug Offense
      • Child Endangerment DUI
      • License Suspension
    • Criminal Defense
      • Bond in Georgia Criminal Cases
      • Drug Charge Defense
      • Sex Crime Defense
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      • Probation Violation
      • Vehicular Homicide
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      • Calculating Workers’ Comp Payments
      • Fall at Work
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      • Scarring
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The Important of a Bench Trial or Jury Trial in a DUI Case

By Ben Sessions on September 11th, 2019 in DUI / DWI

There is a movement taking place across this country to take away the right to trial by jury in 1st offense DUI cases. Georgia law continues to provide those charged with DUI here with the right to a trial by jury on every DUI charge. Therefore, a person charged with DUI can always elect to go forward with a jury trial. On the other hand, an accused can attempt to go forward with a bench trial, but the state may prevent the defendant from setting the case for a bench trial in some cases.

Some lawyers intuitively think that one would never move forward to a bench trial when the defense is premised upon the burden of proof (proof beyond a reasonable doubt) as to the defendant’s state of impairment. Such lawyers typically believe if the issue is whether our client was impaired, a judge is not the proper avenue for an acquittal (not guilty). This is right in most cases, but what if your case were in front of a judge that would be as favorable as any jury? What if you could eliminate a lot of the uncertainty that accompanies a jury trial? What if the election to have a bench trial instead of a jury trial trial would significantly reduce the probability that the court would impose a draconian sentence in the event of a guilty verdict?

As a practical matter, the decision as to whether try a case in front of a jury or a judge is a difficult decision that can only be intelligently made with a consideration of a multitude of various facts. Experience counsel that understands the judge and whether or not the judge can apply the burden of proof in a DUI case is a difficult matter to judge. However, experienced DUI lawyers recognize that we cannot flatly reject the notice that a bench trial is the appropriate choice for a trial.


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3155 Roswell Rd., Ste. 220
Atlanta, GA 30305
Phone: 470-225-7710

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