Brown v. State

DICKSON, Justice.

Following a bench trial, Defendant-Appellant Joe L. Brown was convicted upon a charge of robbery, a class B felony, 1.0. § 35-42-5-1, and sentenced to fourteen (14) years imprisonment. The sole issue presented in this direct appeal is whether the defendant personally waived trial by jury.

The right to trial by jury in criminal cases is fundamental to American jurisprudence, and as such guaranteed by the federal and State Constitutions. See U.S. Const. Amend. VI; Ind.Const. Art. I, § 13; see generally, Duncan v. Louisiana (1968), 391 U.S. 145, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 20 L.Ed.2d 491.…