Many people who are charged with crimes throughout Los Angeles County and even the United States grapple with this every day—trying to figure out whether they should go to a jury trial, whether they should let a jury decide their fate in a criminal case because that's really what you're doing when you go to trial.

The jury, a group of your peers, will listen to the prosecutor's evidence.  They'll also listen to your criminal defense attorney cross-examine each of the witnesses that the prosecutors put on.  The jury's role is crucial as they will ultimately decide your fate in the case. There will be an opening statement and a closing argument, which are important parts of the trial process.

The defense will also have the opportunity to present its case, if it chooses to, and call witnesses. The prosecution will then have the right to cross-examine those witnesses. Of course, you, as a criminal defendant, are permitted to testify. Still, you're going to have to withstand cross-examination by the prosecuting attorney, who can ask you a lot of embarrassing questions and try to get you to say or do something that either makes you look bad or incriminates you.

Review Trial Strategy with Your Criminal Lawyer

Deciding whether to go to trial or not is a complex decision. It's crucial to make this decision in consultation with your attorney.  When clients ask me whether they should go to trial, my advice is straightforward.

I basically tell them, ' Listen, if you did something wrong in this case and you know whether you did or didn't, and you committed a crime. ' You should probably, through consultation with your attorney, figure out a way to negotiate a plea bargain with the prosecutors and move on with your life. A plea bargain could offer you a chance to resolve the case and move forward, providing a sense of hope in a difficult situation.

If, on the other hand, you did not commit any crime and did not do anything wrong, then you shouldn't accept a plea deal in the case.  You should be setting the case for trial and let your attorney defend you, put on your defense.  In a lot of these cases where somebody's innocent, of course, they should have their say in court, and they should testify, in my opinion.

Now, these are generalizations.  You've really got to sit down with your attorney, who knows all the facts and details about your case, when deciding whether to go to trial or not, because there's a lot on the line when you go to trial.  If you work out a deal with the prosecutors, you typically know what your sentence is going to be, and you have some safety and security there because you know exactly what's going to happen to you.

Losing a Case Means Losing Control Over What Happens To You

If you go to trial and are found guilty, you lose control over your fate. The trial judge will then determine your sentence, which could be severe, potentially leading to a substantial amount of time in criminal custody. This underscores the importance of making an informed decision about whether to go to trial or not.

Your attorney can submit a sentencing memorandum, and the prosecutor can do the same. There will also be a probation report; however, ultimately, the judge, after evaluating all the information, will make the final decision.

So, this has a degree of dangerousness to it because you don't know what that judge is going to do.  You don't know how that judge is going to view your case, and how that judge is going to view the fact that you went to jury trial and ended up being found guilty.

Therefore, this is definitely something you should consider. Suppose you can obtain a resolution that allows you to be released from custody relatively quickly, as opposed to facing a substantial amount of time in criminal custody. In that case, that is definitely a big factor that may weigh in favor of your attorney working out a deal for you.

When you're deciding whether to go to a jury trial, you want to discuss the issues surrounding your case with your attorney.  Having practiced criminal defense for over twenty-five years, I've likely participated in more than 250 jury trials. Your active involvement in these discussions can help you understand the complexities of your case and feel more in control of the decision-making process. Your attorney's role is to guide you through this process, providing you with the necessary information and support to make the best decision for your case.

So, I can give my client a good idea of what evidence the prosecutors will present to try to prove the case, and give you a good sense of how a jury might perceive that evidence.  Then I'm going to be able to tell you what your defense is going to be based on the evidence, based on our conversation, and obviously, based on what makes sense and how we would put that defense on and how a jury might view that.

Ultimately, there's no certainty in a criminal trial. Twelve community members, unknown to you, will decide your fate. Their decisions are influenced by various factors, making the outcome unpredictable. This unpredictability should make you cautious and aware of the risks associated with it.

Experienced Jury Trial Defense Lawyer

Sometimes, they bring with them biases and prejudices against criminal defendants, assuming that they must be guilty if the state files a case against them.  This is something that will be addressed and explored during the voir dire at the jury trial level, but still, you can't enter a person's mind and see everything they're thinking or how they perceive things.  So, sometimes that works to the prosecutor's advantage, and sometimes it works to the defense's advantage.

So, there is a degree of uncertainty when you take your criminal case to trial for both sides.  Prosecutors can also lose cases, or there may be hung juries, because they encounter particular jurors who don't want to find a person guilty or don't trust the prosecutors.

There's a whole host of different factors that go into these jury trials.  That's why, in my opinion, it's crucial that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who's been down this road before, knows how to handle a jury trial, and knows how to help you make the decision whether going to trial in your case in Los Angeles makes sense or not. Their experience can provide you with a sense of reassurance in this uncertain process.