Opinion ID: 2791326
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of the Colloquy

Text: Before a defendant waives his right to a jury, the district court must ensure that he knows what the right guarantees. Cochran, 770 F.2d at 853. Accordingly, district courts are strongly encouraged, although not required, to inform defendants that “twelve members of the community compose a jury,” that “the defendant may take part in jury selection,” that “jury verdicts must be unanimous,” and that “the court alone decides guilt or innocence if the defendant waives a jury trial.” Id. However, the sufficiency of the colloquy is highly dependent on the education and legal sophistication of the defendant, and shorter colloquies can be sufficient to ascertain whether the waiver is knowing and voluntary. See Shorty, 741 F.3d at 968 (noting that an abbreviated colloquy might have been sufficient had the defendant been “intellectually sophisticated and highly educated”). Here, as a practicing attorney and partner at a major law firm, Tamman was well aware of the rights that a jury trial would entail. The district court reasonably concluded that UNITED STATES V. TAMMAN 15 Tamman’s competence, background, and experience ensured that he understood the mechanics of a jury trial and the rights he was waiving, even without an in-depth colloquy or a recitation of the four facts mentioned in Cochran. Accordingly, this court affirms the district court’s finding of knowing and intelligent waiver.