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Bench trial
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<p>A bench trial is a <a href="/facts/Trial_(law)/7mNT4FRG">trial</a> by <a href="/facts/Judge/2MgrCxc1">judge</a>, as opposed to a <a href="/facts/Jury/cJofrUeI">jury</a>. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a <a href="/facts/Summary_offense/1cMHzM78">summary offense</a> to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (<a href="/facts/Civil_law_(legal_system)/R878oQ6V">Roman</a>, <a href="/facts/Sharia/H9cG0yCF">Islamic</a>) use bench trials for most or all cases or for certain types of cases. </p><p>As a jury renders a <a href="/facts/Verdict/3EhT4m3T">verdict</a>, in a bench trial, a judge does the same by making a <a href="/facts/Trier_of_fact/4l7kgIdm">finding</a>. </p>