[throwaway17_17]

Guilt or innocence is a question of fact, in the US court system. It is a determination that is left to the ‘trier of facts’ that can be a judge or a jury depending on defendant choice and statutory law for each particular jurisdiction. There are many defendants who choose to have a ‘trial by judge’ and waive a jury. It happens often and it happens for many reasons, and those facts make your assertion about a ‘clown court’ wrong.

I do understand the meaning and most likely intent of your post, but the language used is less effective than it could be.

[1000units]

I carry an open disdain for lawyers and their equivocal notion of "argument". You understood me; my language and its assertion are sound.

You don't want to go into any of those reasons people waive a jury, right?

[throwaway17_17]

I can say for certain that some people waive a jury when the judge is known to more often than not find defendants not guilty of Distributing Controlled Substances and instead is likely to only convict on simple possession. I can say for certain that some people opt for a trial by judge when they know that said judge often finds prosecutor arguments based on co-conspirator testimony or testimony of snitches are not reliable. Like I said, there are many reasons a defendant may opt away from having a jury trial. Also, I don’t see how your disdain for lawyers is relevant to the concept of a judge vs jury trial.