On appeal, for example, the judge's findings entirely displace those of the advisory jury. Smith announced last week that he'll seat a jury for the lawsuit trial. Both sides in the lawsuit had expected Smith to hear the case. When FBI sniper Lon Horiuchi was dismissed from the lawsuit in March, only the federal government remained as a defendant. Federal law doesn't provide for a jury hearing in civil cases not involving individuals.
Advisory juries are common in cases involving issues of community standards, such as obscenity laws.
How much judges rely on advisory juries varies, according to an article in the Harvard Law Review . With a jury, you have a cross section of the community. They're somewhat less predictable than a judge. A judge, no matter how fair they try to be, they get reputations, proclivities, after they've been on the bench for awhile. Judges are subject to prejudices just like any other individual.