Here I go. Just ignore me if I start to bore. Got two things I must say but I'll do one each per post.
The first is the issue raised about the difference between using a judge and using a jury.
Firstly its important to remember they are all people and everyone has their own perspective and leanings that influence how they think, even subliminally. And a good barrister is just as clever influencing a judge as they are a jury. That's what they're trained to do.
Certainly a judge is far more experienced in these matters than a jury member. They're experienced and read people better through experience. But they aren't infallible. The advantage of a jury is that you're getting a broad spectrum of people, and therefore a wider perspective in that they are more likely to live in the world of the offender. The judge is unlikely to.
Take the DeBellin case. A judge may have convicted him based on his experience in dealing with these matters. A jury, with a broader understanding of day to day living has a collective advantage in seeing a wider range of possibilities. The fact that two juries could not reach a decision, showed that there was insufficient evidence to satisfy at least some of the members to be convinced of his guilt. No matter what we think, in their mind they were not convinced, and in law that is consistent with what is expected. Its not an issue regarding whether he did it, Its a question as to whether the evidence is sufficiently compelling.
Either way there's risk. Juries makes mistakes. Judges make mistakes. Its human nature. Having been involved in hundreds of court matters over the years, I've seen how magistrates and judges can see things quite differently. Some judges I wouldn't risk appearing before even if I was innocent. Some are conned. Anecdotally, I recall one case of a woman appealing against severity of sentence before a district court judge. I knew the woman well. Professional shop lifter. She used tears, claimed an abusive husband (she had been single for years), and conned the judge because of his lack of information and sensitivity, to significantly reduce her sentence. I recall leaving court when her matter finished (I was not then her supervising officer) and said to her 'Well done Renata, you cleverly got out of that one'. She just turned, the tears long gone, and smiled and nodded. That happens more often than you imagine
A three judge or multiple judge sitting such as you get in the Industrial Court, may be more effective. But a single judge, despite their experience, can be manipulated based on their own foibles. Solicitors know this and try to move cases to different courts for this very reason. The High Court judge who supported the NRL No Fault policy, I suspect was so influenced, given that lower court decisions regarding such matters, had been on several occasions, determined in the other direction. Judges are human.
Unless it was a three judge hearing, even if I was innocent, I would prefer a jury.