A bill before a House committee would, if approved require a prosecutor's consent for a trial before a judge instead of a jury.
Attorney General Peter Neronha requested the legislation, which recently went before the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Current law allows an accused person to waive their right to a jury trial and this has not changed since 1929.
Neronha favors the change, after an acquittal in a high-profile hate crime case.
Defense attorneys, however, say the system of jury trials and waivers is not a problem.
Identical versions of the bill are before the House and Senate.
(Photo by LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images)
Photo: LOIC VENANCE / AFP / Getty Images