Martinelli

The defendant in an information filed by the United States Attorney has been charged with the violation of Title 16 U. S.C. § 668 for unlawfully taking a bald eagle and a golden eagle. He has entered a plea of not guilty, and has demanded a jury trial. The government moves to quash his motion for a jury trial.

Since the maximum penalty under section 668 is a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than six months, or both, the government asserts the offense charged under this section is a petty offense as that term is defined in Title 18 U.S.C. § 1 (3) which states:

Proceeding from this premise the government contends that jury trials are not permitted in cases charging a petty offense. Both parties agree that this case does not require a jury trial as a matter of constitutional right under the provisions of Article III, section 2, paragraph 3, or the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. The latest expression of the United States Supreme Court on this subject is found in Singer v. United States, 85 S.Ct. 783 , (decided March 1, 1965), where the Court said:

Both parties further agree that even though a jury trial is not required as a matter of constitutional right…