Jacob Hilbert v. Missouri

Petitioner appeared for trial along with counsel. The trial court stated that defense counsel had represented that defense counsel wanted a bench trial, which defense counsel confirmed. The matter proceeded to bench trial. Midway through the bench trial, the prosecutor asked the trial court if a written waiver of the right to a jury trial had been filed. Defense counsel indicated he would file a written waiver. No written waiver was filed. Petitioner was convicted. On appeal, the Missouri Supreme Court held that a constitutionally valid waiver of the right to jury trial did not require any affirmative action of the defendant, as long as the record established a knowing, intelligent, and valid waiver. The question presented is: must a trial court obtain some personal acknowledgement from a criminal defendant that the defendant has waived the defendant’s right to a jury trial for a purported waiver to be constitutionally sufficient?