State v. MacHia

The Vermont Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to a twelve-person jury — no more, and no less. This right can be waived only by strict adherence to the constitutional waiver provision, with the same formality required for waiver of an entire jury. Because the defendant in this case did not personally waive his right to a twelve-person jury, the waiver was constitutionally defective and he should be entitled to a new trial. Therefore, I must dissent.

I will review first the standards applicable to a waiver of a trial by jury because these standards are intertwined with those…