I think you are understating the role of a judge in these types of trials They decide timing, what can be admitted, specific questions, and the questionnaire t

I think you are understating the role of a judge in these types of trials They decide timing, what can be admitted, specific questions, and the questionnaire the jury filled out as part of their verdict. The fact that it even reached the point of a jury trial (and a very quick trial, at that) was the decision of a judge