this or that: BENCH TRIAL vs JURY TRIAL

this or that: BENCH TRIAL vs JURY TRIAL

BENCH TRIAL – a trial before a judge alone (proces bez udziału ławy przysięgłych)

JURY TRIAL – a trial by jury (proces z udziałem ławy przysięgłych)

(1) In bench trials, the judge takes on two roles: that of the referee who rules on the admissibility of evidence and decides questions of law, and that of the finder of fact who ultimately determines how much weight to give the testimony of different witnesses and the credibility of the evidence.

ADMISSIBILITY OF EVIDENCE – dopuszczalność dowodów (the quality of being allowed to be used/ accepted as evidence during a legal proceeding)

A QUESTION OF LAW – kwestia prawna, zagadnienie prawne (a disputed legal question, left to a judge to determine; the opposite of a question of fact)

 TESTIMONY – zeznanie (a form of evidence that is obtained from a witness who makes a solemn statement or declaration of fact)

CREDIBILITY – wiarygodność (how convincing and believable someone/something is)

(2) Some litigators and parties might prefer bench trials if they have a particularly complicated case that they believe may confuse a jury.

A LITIGATOR – prawnik specjalizujący się występowaniu na sali sądowej, adwokat (a trial lawyer; a lawyer who specializes in appearing before trial courts – the courts of first instance)

(3) Section 47 Criminal Justice Act 2003 does allow a bench trial for indictable offences, but is rarely used, having been exercised only two times since its inception. (In case of serious criminal offences the norm is a jury trial.)

THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE ACT 2003 – Ustawa o prawie karnym z 2003 r. (an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, modernises many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland)

AN INDICTABLE OFFENCE (UK) – przestępstwo, którego sądzenie wymaga od prokuratury złożenia aktu oskarżenia, zbrodnia,  (a serious offence which can only be tried on an indictment in a crown court, as opposed to a summary offence that is tried without an indictment in a magistrates’ court)

AN INDICTMENT – akt oskarżenia (a document in which a person is formally accused of a crime)

(4) In a jury trial, the jury decides the factual issues and the judge decides the legal issues. That is why a jury is referred to as the “fact-finder.” This means that juries hear testimony and review documents and other physical evidence to determine what, when, and how took place.

LEGAL ISSUES= QUESTIONS OF LAW – kwestie prawne, zagadnienia prawne (disputed legal questions, left to a judge to determine; the opposite of questions of fact)

 TESTIMONY – zeznanie (a form of evidence that is obtained from a witness who makes a solemn statement or declaration of fact)

TO REVIEW – analizować, oceniać, poddawać ocenie (to analyse, to assess)

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE/ REAL EVIDENCE – dowód rzeczowy (any material object, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding to prove a fact in issue based on the object's physical characteristics)

(5) In U.S. law, for most criminal cases, trial by jury is usually a matter of course as it is a constitutional right under the Sixth Amendment and cannot be waived without certain requirements.

A MATTER OF COURSE – norma (the usual or expected thing)

THE SIXTH AMENDMENT– szósta poprawka do konstytucji amerykańskiej (the Sixth Amendment (Amendment VI) to the United States Constitution is a part of the United States Bill of Rights. It provides many protections and rights to those accused of a crime: the right to a lawyer, to a speedy public trial, to an impartial jury, to know who his (or her) accusers are and to know the charges and evidence against him.)

TO WAIVE – zrzec się (to give up, to resign, to not demand something that is your right)

(6) The defendant may waive a jury trial at any time before the jury is sworn. A waiver of jury trial must be in writing; have the consent of the district attorney general; and have the approval of the court.

TO WAIVE – zrzec się (to give up, to resign, to not demand something that is your right)

A WAIVER –  zrzeczenie się, (giving up a right)

SWORN – zaprzysiężona ( have officially promised to render a true verdict according to the evidence)

IN WRITING – na piśmie (in a written form)

A CONSENT/ AN APPROVAL– zgoda (a permission, an agreement)

THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY GENERAL– prokurator okręgowy (the director of a state’s prosecution office)

(7) The biggest advantage to a jury trial is the amount that juries tend to award. Juries are much more ruled by their passions than judges, so a particularly compelling story about how a victim suffered injury or harm at the hands of the defendant can lead to a much heftier award than a dispassionate judge would grant. Thus, it is no surprise that the biggest verdicts in US history have all come from jury trials.

TO AWARD (AN AMOUNT) TO SOMEONE – przyznać/ zasądzić odszkodowanie w kwocie na rzecz  (to order  a party to a suit to pay the other party a given amount)

TO SUFFER INJURY/HARM – ponieść uszczerbek (na zdrowiu) (to get injured, harmed)

AT THE HANDS OF– z rąk (by)

THE DEFENDANT– pozwany (the person against whom a case was brought to court)

TO GRANT AN AWARD – przyznać/ zasądzić odszkodowanie na rzecz (to order a party to a suit to pay the other party