Idaho v. Umphenour
Annotate this CaseAn information was filed charging Gerald Umphenour with possession of methamphetamine, a felony, and with resisting and obstructing an officer and having an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, both misdemeanors. On appeal, he contended that the district court failed to secure an express waiver from the defendant of his right to a jury trial before proceeding with a court trial. The appeal was initially heard by the Idaho Court of Appeals, which vacated Umphenour’s conviction on the ground that the district court had conducted a court trial without first obtaining Umphenour’s personal, express waiver of his right to a jury trial. The Supreme Court granted the State’s petition for review. "Because the aberrant procedure used by the district court was, in essence, a guilty plea and not a court trial," the Supreme Court affirmed the district court.
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