State v. Smith

Defendant-appellant Rodger P. Smith was convicted of assault after a bench trial, and sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. Smith claims that he was improperly deprived of his right to a jury trial, and that his conviction was against the weight of the evidence. We agree with Smith that he had the right to a jury-trial, which he had not waived. Accordingly, his conviction will be reversed.

Smith was charged with two counts of assault. By written entry, he pled not guilty and demanded a jury trial. It appears, from an affidavit of the trial judge attached as an exhibit to the state’s brief,…