California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Javier A., In re, 159 Cal.App.3d 913, 206 Cal.Rptr. 386 (Cal. App. 1984):
These and similar questions are answered in an appendix to the dissenting opinion in McKeiver v. Pennsylvania, supra, 403 U.S. 528, 563-572, 91 S.Ct. 1976, 1995-1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 647. Briefly, a juvenile can be tried by an impartial jury of adults. The waiver of jury trial requires no more maturity than the waiver of counsel or the decision to plead guilty. The judge's presumed expertise in weighing social and psychological factors can still come into play where it counts--the dispositional phase--after the jury has determined whether the juvenile actually committed the charged crime.
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