[kurupt213]

Can defendants in criminal or civil court request a verdict from a judge or panel of judges instead of a jury?

I believe Mario Batali did that quite recently in his alleged creepy touching trial.

Back to your explanation, this seems like a court functioning the way it was meant to. I think everyone will agree there was a massive Executive overreach in the 20th century, with congress abdicating much of its counterbalancing power (making difficult/unpopular policy decisions that are future-looking is not the recipe for re-election).

Bowing to precedence regardless of the quality of the decision seems like bad law facilitating more bad law.

[rayiner]

Yes, both civil and criminal cases can try the case to a judge, called a bench trial. Both sides have to agree to that however, since technically both sides have a right to a jury trial.

[dragonwriter]

> Yes, both civil and criminal cases can try the case to a judge, called a bench trial. Both sides have to agree to that however, since technically both sides have a right to a jury trial.

The government does not have a right to a jury trial, because the government doesn't have rights. (In the federal system, for example, government consent is required for a bench trial in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, but because that is not a right, and the defendants right to a speedy and public trial, there is at least one case where a federal court, when jury trials were suspended because of the pandemic, conducted a bench trial under a defense jury trial waiver despite the government refusing consent and preferring jury trial.)