State v. James Denelsbeck(075170)

A person facing a fourth conviction for driving while intoxicated (DWI) has a right to a jury trial in every state except one — New Jersey. Our state holds this dubious distinction because, in the case of third and subsequent DWI offenses, the majority elevates *129“the State’s interest in the efficiency and cost-saving benefits of non-jury trials,” State v. Denelsbeck, 225 N.J. 103, 126, 137 A.3d 462, 2016 WL 2747896 (2016), above the Sixth Amendment guarantee of the right to a jury trial. However inefficient and costly a jury trial may be, the right to one is enshrined in the Federal Bill of…