People v. Duchin

Our dissenting brethren take the position that the trial judge has an uncontrolled discretion to refuse to approve a defendant’s application for a waiver of a trial by jury. We read the constitutional amendment (N. Y. Const., art. I, § 2), *353which provides for such a Avaiver, quite differently.1 The provision is designed for the benefit of the defendant. When, choosing to be tried by a judge alone, he requests a waiver, he is entitled to it as a matter of right once it appears to the satisfaction of the judge of the court having jurisdiction that, first, the waiver is tendered in good faith and…