Constitutional Amendment Concerning Jury Trials

Election season is upon us and then some.  There’s barely a free piece of grass left in North Carolina with all of the election signs.  This year a  constitutional amendment is on the ballot concerning jury trials.  The proposed amendment hasn’t received a lot of attention.  If it passes, the amendment would allow a defendant in a felony case to waive his or her right to a jury trial in favor of a judge trial.  That waiver is not currently allowed.  Interestingly, all 49 states other than North Carolina currently allow some type of waiver.  The UNC School of Government issued a well written analysis of the proposed amendment.: Check it out.