Defendants have a right to a jury trial, but can often opt for a bench trial if they want. Conventional wisdom is that the odds of acquittal are better with a j

Defendants have a right to a jury trial, but can often opt for a bench trial if they want. Conventional wisdom is that the odds of acquittal are better with a jury, outside of unusual cases (eg. an extremely unpopular defendant). Describing trial by jury as "less modern" is also bizarre, the trial by jury is a specifically enumerated right in the Constitution because of legal abuses in Great Britain in the 1500s and 1600s. It exists to protect defendants by placing the decision ultimately in the hands of members of the community, rather than a single political appointee.