what is a bench trial

A bench trial is a type of trial that does not involve a jury and is conducted by the judge alone, in which the judge both decides the facts of the case and applies the law. In a bench trial, the judge plays the role of the jury as the finder of fact in addition to making conclusions of law. This type of trial tends to go faster than a jury trial since there’s no need to take the time for jury selection. Bench trials are used in many legal systems for most or all cases or for certain types of cases. In the United States, trial by jury is a constitutional right under the Sixth Amendment, but the circumstances in which bench trials apply vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. While a jury renders a verdict, a judge in a bench trial does the same by making a finding. In some bench trials, both sides have already stipulated to all the facts in the case, and these cases are usually faster than jury trials because of the lack of a jury.