A. A trial before a judge without a jury.
Listen to pronunciationLegal Definition - A trial before a judge without a jury. The judge decides questions of facts as well as questions of law. - Also termed trial to the bench; nonjury trial; court trial; trial before the court (abbr. TBC); judge trial. Black's Law Dictionary® Eighth Edition © 2004
Recent Usage - It's fitting that the Connecticut Supreme Court's historic March 28 decision in Evans v. General Motors -- the first ruling in the United States specifically holding that trade secrets cases are entitled to a jury trial -- arises from historic Anglo-American precedents. The ruling reverses the decision of Superior Court Judge Robert McWeeny that Litchfield inventor John W. Evans isn't entitled to have his spellbinding tale of treachery, missed opportunity, theft, lies, forgery and perjury unfold before a jury. Evans is seeking over $125 million in lost royalties for General Motors' alleged theft of his design for a sleek and powerful "reverse flow" cooling system that first appeared in the 1992 Corvette Stingray, which hit the market in 1991. When Evans tried to get the device patented, GM successfully claimed that he'd missed the deadline. Unbeknownst to Evans, a single June 1991 advance order of one 1992 Corvette by a Michigan auto dealer rolled back the one-year period to file a patent once an invention is introduced in commerce. Although he appealed the matter all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Evans lost his chance for a patent. In the current litigation, Evans' main claim arises from the Connecticut Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which is silent on the issue of a right to a jury trial. The Connecticut Constitution, enacted in 1818, says that the right to a jury trial "shall remain inviolate." That phrase has been interpreted as continuing the jury trial right in those cases previously tried to juries, but not for cases which were previously tried to a judge. Cases in equity, seeking judicial orders as the remedy, traditionally received a bench trial. Cases at law, in which the remedy is money damages, gave rise to the right of a jury trial. By Thomas B. Scheffey, The Connecticut Law Tribune 03-31-2006