Non-Jury (Bench) Trial
A non-jury or "bench" trial is when the judge, rather than a jury, decides guilt or innocence. The defendant (Nickel), though he now bitterly regrets this decision, did in fact choose to go with a bench trial. Why? He believed that a judge would be more objective, and not easily inflamed by the nature of the charges and other extraneous issues. He was, clearly, quite wrong.
