Will My DUI Case Be Heard by a Judge or Jury in Illinois? Combs Waterkotte attorney Joshua Boardman discusses everything you need to know about Illinois DUI criminal charges, including first-time DUI, second DUI, Illinois DUI laws, DUI defense strategies, CDL DUI charges, and more.
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Interview Transcript
Scott Michael Dunn: Will my DUI case be heard by a judge or jury in Illinois?
Joshua Boardman: When you say heard, you mean in like a trial setting?
Dunn: In that sense, yes. Heard in by a judge or heard by a jury.
Boardman: Whether the DUI is charged as a misdemeanor or a felony, it’s going to be in front of a judge that is going to be hearing the evidence, be imposing any kind of sentence, going to be calling balls and strikes at a trial if that’s what the defendant wants to do. But the choice as to whether or not it is a jury trial or a bench trial is one that is left up to the defendant. So, if the defendant feels as though a jury of their peers would not be the most conducive option to their fate, they’ll choose a bench trial. Otherwise, typically you often think of criminal cases as jury trials, but the defendant does have the option to choose one or the other.
Dunn: Really?
Boardman: Yes.
Dunn: That’s interesting. I mean, that’s also through counsel recommendation?
Boardman: Yes, and there’s a number of strategy conversations that we will have. Is the case one of legal nuance where we have concerns that it might not be presented to a jury in a way that could be readily understood and we ask that we only have one finder of fact and one trier of fact be the one evaluating that legal issue? Do we have a very likeable or unlikable defendant that has the ability to present well to a jury trial? There’s a number of different strategy considerations before making that decision.
