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CPL 320.10 · Article 320. Waiver of Jury Trial and Conduct of Non-jury Trial

Non-jury trial; when authorized

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)

§ 320.10 Non-jury trial; when authorized.

1. Except where the indictment charges the crime of murder in the first degree, the defendant, subject to the provisions of subdivision two, may at any time before trial waive a jury trial and consent to a trial without a jury in the superior court in which the indictment is pending.

2. Such waiver must be in writing and must be signed by the defendant in person in open court in the presence of the court, and with the approval of the court. The court must approve the execution and submission of such waiver unless it determines that it is tendered as a stratagem to procure an otherwise impermissible procedural advantage or that the defendant is not fully aware of the consequences of the choice he is making. If the court disapproves the waiver, it must state upon the record its reasons for such disapproval.

Source of truth

Edition
Law content up to date as of October 2, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
Official file
https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/CPL320.10
Text hash
sha256 e86a38960a9a5074ab9ff9ce07cc2b0054157c9c2092e1901dbd5869c5b40dba
Composed by
gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.