Why Are Federal Judges So Acquittal Prone?

Leipold, Andrew D.

Why Are Federal Judges So Acquittal Prone?

Federal criminal defendants almost always prefer a jury trial to a bench trial, but it is unclear why. Statistically, federal judges are significantly more likely to acquit than a jury is—over a recent 14 year period, for example, the jury trial conviction rate was 84%, while the bench conviction ra...