Blanton v. North Las Vegas
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Blanton v. North Las Vegas | ||||||||||||||
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Supreme Court of the United States | ||||||||||||||
Argued January 9, 1989 Decided March 6, 1989 |
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Holding | ||||||||||||||
The right to a jury trial is not found in crimes where the maximum period of incarceration is under six months. | ||||||||||||||
Court membership | ||||||||||||||
Chief Justice: William Rehnquist Associate Justices: William J. Brennan, Jr., Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun, John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy |
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Case opinions | ||||||||||||||
Majority by: Marshall Joined by: unanimous |
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Laws applied | ||||||||||||||
U.S. Const. amend. VI |
Blanton v. North Las Vegas, United States Supreme Court clarifying the limitations of the Right to Trial by Jury.
, was a decision issued by theMelvin R. Blanton was charged with Driving under the influence of alcohol. His petition for a jury trial was denied and he was instead given a bench trial. Blanton appealed, arguing that his sixth amendment right to trial by jury had been violated.
The US Supreme Court ruled that Blanton did not have the right to a jury trial because the crime he was charged with was "petty". The court went on to elaborate: "offenses for which the maximum period of incarceration is six months, or less, are presumptively petty...a defendant can overcome this, and become entitled to a jury trial,..by showing that additional penalties [such as monetary fines]...are...so severe [as to indicate] that the legislature clearly determined that the offense is a serious one."