State v. Van Lieu

Defendant appeals from his conviction after trial to the court without a jury of driving while under the influence of intoxicants (DUII). He assigns as error the holding of the trial without a jury, contending that he never waived his constitutional and statutory right to a trial by jury. We reverse.

The essential facts are as follows:

Defendant was cited for DUII on February 2, 1980. On February 5, defendant appeared without counsel and was arraigned on a Uniform Traffic Citation Complaint. The court at that time advised defendant, inter alia, of his right to a jury trial. Defendant pleaded…